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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/24228460">The Mountains of Maggots and Caves</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/Laffy_Taffy/pseuds/Laffy_Taffy'>Laffy_Taffy</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>GDC - Fandom, MDZS, Mo Dao Zu Shi, Mxtx - Fandom, The Grandmaster of Demonic Cultivation, the untamed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>During Wei Wuxian's Death, Jiang Cheng raising Jin Ling, Lan Wanji raising Lan Yuan, M/M, Slight Cannon divergence, Wei Wuxian Resurrection</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>In-Progress</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-05-17</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-08-21</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-02 18:29:16</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Teen And Up Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>21</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>23,249</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/24228460</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/Laffy_Taffy/pseuds/Laffy_Taffy</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Who pulls the strings in the shadows?<br/>Who lurks even after we are dead?<br/>What truly keeps us alive?<br/>Why do we think that we are?</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Jiang Cheng/Lan XiChen, Lan Wanji/Wei Wuxian</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>39</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>114</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>1. Chapter 1</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>I just decided to write the fanfiction on a whim (or, really, a nightmare) and to practice my writing skills while I write my own novel. Criticism and praise accepted equally, just be gentle with my pour soul. I am a student, so updates will be erratic, especially with AP testing, ACTs, PSATS, and SATs (the latter of which are coming up next year for me). I hope you find my story acceptable.</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>It had been seven years since Wei Wuxian’s disappearance. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Jiang Cheng never thought of it as death. It was impossible for that constant nagging presence to leave so completely the one time he didn’t want him to. He’d wanted to kill him. But he didn’t want him to go. The minute he realized that he’d never find the body, he was hit with the sensation that he’d made the gravest mistake in his life. He would have mourned, but he could only save face and move on.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Seven years. Jin Ling was seven years old. Jiang Cheng didn’t quite know if he liked the child or hated him. Sometimes, the child looked like his sister, running around, hair wild, and he would be taken back to the days of the past, when they were all alive eating lotus seeds or shooting down kites. Other times, the kid was the spitting image of the dreaded peacock, and acted twice as spoiled as his deceased brother-in-law had been. But most times… most times, the child acted like he did, copied every movement, idolized him completely. It was touching, but Jiang Cheng did not deserve to be held so highly. Part of him wished that his nephew had met Wei Wuxian. He wondered how such a figure would be taken in the eyes of a child, especially when the figure would’ve been a big galumphing baby himself. Well, maybe. It depended on when Jin Ling might meet him in such an alternate universe. If he’d met Wei Wuxian during the last few years of his life… perhaps that could have unforeseen consequences on his nephew.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Jiang Cheng always got sentimental when he saw the damned flute.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>It was as though Wei Wuxian had cursed him from beyond the grave. No, no. Wei Wuxian liked him too much to curse him. It was likely another unforeseen consequence, the flute bringing too many memories. Had Wei Wuxian known the pain that it would bring, he likely would’ve taken pains to destroy it before anyone took it into their possession. It was an accident, like when he’d offended the Wens so badly that… that…</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He couldn’t bear to think about it anymore.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Jiang Cheng turned away from the pedestal that he held Chenqing on and walked out of his room and through the halls of his home in Yunmeng. He strode with dignity and honor, some that felt almost feigned in light of present circumstances. Well, not present. The clans had been at peace since the eradication of the Wens and the death of Wei Wuxian. He didn’t know how long it would last, though. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Peace often never lasted. Eventually a tyrant would rise and steal the glory.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He just hoped that he wasn’t that sort of a person.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Sect Leader Jiang!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Jiang Cheng looked up as a messenger ran through the halls to him, panting with exhaust. He’d seen the clothes and forehead ribbon of Gusu Lan far too many times to mistake the messenger for anyone else. The messenger collapsed before him, bowing low, but Jiang Cheng spared no effort to help him up. Instead, he merely glanced down, slight concern causing his eyebrow to rise. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“What is it?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Sect Leader Lan has called for you!” the messenger whispered, trying to gasp down the saliva accumulating in his throat from the long trek. If Jiang Cheng didn’t know better, he would’ve thought that the messenger had run all the way from that infernal sect to find him. “Bad things are happening! Really… really bad!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Jiang Cheng furrowed his brow. His hand tightened into a fist, and he could feel Zidian buzzing nervously against his skin. “Bad things? I would’ve thought that a Lan disciple would be more specific.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Sect Leader Lan wouldn’t tell me what it was! Only that you needed to come urgently.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Jiang Cheng thought for the longest time. He wasn’t quite that fond of the Lans. He supposed that Lan XiChen was all right, but Lan Wanji felt strange to him. It wasn’t just the silence, but also the feeling that he got years ago whenever the man was around Wei Wuxian. There was more than forced friendship or an alliance with him, but he wasn’t sure whether they thought of one another more as enemies or lovers. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>They couldn’t be lovers.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>That was a stupid thought.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Why would he think that?</span>
</p><p>
  <span>That wasn’t the point. The point was that Lan XiChen was being deliberately vague, likely because the information was sensitive. Jiang Cheng would have to make arrangements before he left. There was Jin Ling to take care of. Perhaps the kid could be given to Jin Guangyao. He’d just been corresponding with the boy’s other uncle the other day about how he was to get a dog soon. That was good. If there was anything Jin Ling needed, it was a new companion. He also had to designate someone to take control of his sect in case he wasn’t back soon enough. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>He looked back down at the messenger. “Tell him I’ll be there in three days’ time.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Thank you, Sect Leader Jiang!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>As Jiang Chen watched the messenger run off again, he remembered, quite suddenly, the last time he’d seen Lan Wanji’s cruel eyes behind Lan XiChen’s confident body. There had been a child at his side, holding onto his leg. Lan Wanji wasn’t a particularly touchy person. But he’d noticed that the child looked eerily like Wei Wuxian.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Jiang Cheng closed his eyes and rubbed his temples. He’d had enough of thinking about the dead. </span>
</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0002"><h2>2. Chapter 2</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>Saying goodbye to Jin Ling might’ve been the hardest thing that Jiang Cheng had to do in his life. He liked to put on a tough act for the boy, but never in his life had a farewell felt so lonely, so incomplete. He often took him on night hunts, accompanied him to visits with his other uncles, and brought him everywhere. This was the first time that they’d truly been parted since he realized that he was the only family on the child’s mother’s side. And the new dog made it difficult to say goodbye too. Jin Ling had named it Little Fairy. Wei Wuxian would’ve called that a prostitute’s name. Jiang Cheng thought it was a fitting name. His sister had told him plenty of stories about heroines saving men with that sort of a name. He was almost ashamed he didn’t think of such a name when he was younger, although Princess and Jasmine and Love still held special places in his heart.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Why hadn’t he gotten a dog after Wei Wuxian’s death?</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He could’ve done with one.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Don’t worry,” Jin Guangyao muttered from his stoop beside Jin Ling, looking up at him as the boy laughed and played with the new pet. “I’ll take care of him as best I can. I promise, Jiang Wanyin.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Of course,” Jiang Cheng sighed. “Will Nie Huaisang visit while Jin Ling is here?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I don’t think so.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>That was good. Although Jiang Cheng had a soft spot for his childhood friend, he couldn’t help but notice that Nie Huaisang was growing more and more detached with each passing day. Something had to be wrong, but Jiang Cheng couldn’t think of what. It was an odd occurrence that Nie Huaisang’s head was filled with anything but clouds. Perhaps after this business with Lan XiChen was dealt with, he would be able to visit the Nie Sect and console him. Whatever it was, it had to be trivial. Still, Jiang Cheng didn’t like the feeling that he suddenly got around Nie Huaisang. The last time they’d met, Nie Huaisang had stared at Jin Ling so strangely that he couldn’t help but feel that there was something more nefarious beneath his skin.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“If he does come by, see if there’s anything wrong,” Jiang Cheng advised his brother-in-law. “I’ve been concerned about him for a while. Ever since his brother died…”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“He was bound to act differently.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Right,” Jiang Cheng breathed. “Right. Yes.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Jin Guangyao regarded Jiang Cheng carefully, almost with an ulterior motive behind his innocent eyes. He reminded Jiang Cheng largely of a fox, with its inconspicuous face, sneaking into a den of sheep and devouring each and every one of them. Jiang Cheng had always liked him a little better than Jin Zixuan and the other bastards that their fathers had sired. He was much less superficial. And yet, he was much too eager to please.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Jiang Cheng knelt in front of his nephew. “Jin Ling.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Mm?” Jin Ling asked, not looking up from stroking Fairy’s fur.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Look up at me, Jin Ling.” Jiang Cheng huffed. Jin Ling reluctantly glared up at him, and Jiang Cheng glowered at him bitterly. “You’re going to behave for your uncle. Otherwise, I’ll come right back and break your legs.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>That was a fairly new threat. Jin Ling was a stubborn child, and he’d often resorted to such to get him to budge. It used to be that Jiang Cheng would break his arm, but the fear of that threat faded the month before. Maybe this one would last another seven years, until Jin Ling was fourteen, at which time, he’d probably threaten something else. He never acted on it. Sometimes he wanted to, but he always stayed his hand.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Jin Ling recoiled, just slightly, and nodded. “Fine.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Fine? Is that all?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Goodbye, uncle,” Jin Ling sighed. “Have fun.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Jiang Cheng stood and bowed to Jin Guangyao, before turning on his heel and leaving the two of them to their laughter. As he left, he passed one of Jin Guangyao’s half brothers. What was his name again? The strange one, who always acted like he was going to be struck at any moment. Mo… Mo… Mo something. He, too, was eager to please, but his behavior was even more suspicious than that of Jin Guangyao.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He’d been around Nie Huaisang a lot lately. </span>
  <span>What were they planning?</span>
</p><p>Mo Xuanyu. That was his name.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0003"><h2>3. Chapter 3</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>Somehow, travel had become unbearable. When Jiang Cheng was younger, he couldn’t get enough of flying around in glee, excited to find new horizons and destinations, but now, it felt like he was going to the same places over and over again, even if he hadn’t been there in ages. If Wei Wuxian were here, he’d be right beside Jiang Cheng with his arms crossed, trying to scare him with death defying stunts and laughing about how boring the Cloud Recesses would be. Would the Cloud Recesses be the same if his brother weren’t there, sneaking out to steal jars of Emperor’s Smile and annoying Lan Wanji? He was sure that it would be more unbearable than ever.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>By the time Jiang Cheng and his escorts arrived, night had created a place for itself, darkness seeping over the landscape, desolate and barren. He could hear the noises of the monsters in the nearby forests, but didn’t pay them too much heed as he was led through the gates. The rest of the sect was asleep, save for a foreign disciple who had been delegated to welcome them and lead them to their rooms. It wasn’t that long a walk, but Jiang Cheng felt mounting dread inside of himself, one that culminated and crescendoed the moment he walked into the quarters in which he’d once stayed up late into the night with Wei Wuxian and Nie Huaisang. It felt so lonely there.</span>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>“Jiang Cheng won’t marry so easily! Have you heard of his requirements for a woman?”</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>“He has requirements?”</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>“SHUT UP!”</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>“She must be naturally beautiful, graceful, obedient, and yet hard-working and thrifty! She must come from a respected family, but her cultivation must not be too high, and her personality must be strong, and she can’t be too talkative or loud at all!”</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>“That sounds like the exact opposite of Wei Wuxian!”</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>“SHUT UP!”</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <span>Jiang Cheng laughed softly to himself, closing his eyes. If Wei Wuxian were able to hear him, he would’ve laughed once more in his cherubic tone. “You forgot one, Wei Wuxian. She must be especially kind to Jin Ling.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He put down his things with a sigh, running his fingers anxiously along Zidian. It seemed like it was reminiscing too, as though the stupid weapon missed a place that it had never been to. He looked down at it, sparks shifting around his fingers, and could not help but think of his family.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He’d learned not to cry when he remembered them. Crying was such an ugly affair.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Then, there was a noise, one which permeated the entire room, filling his ears with a euphoric tone. It was a guqin being strummed, carefully and deliberately, calling out to the rest of the world that had become quiet as shadows skulked into the vast corners of the world. It was a song that was so filled with unrequited love, with such longing, that it made his heart cry out the minute he heard it. Who could be making such a noise? Didn’t everyone obey the rules of the Cloud Recesses?</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Jiang Cheng turned around and flung the doors open, walking out into the courtyard in an attempt to find the noise, only to be stopped when a flash of white passed through the corner of his eye. He turned to see two boys of the Lan sect, one sitting in the grass and watching the other fly around on his sword. They were obviously new at the craft, and keen to break the rules if it meant mastering it. He held his breath with the realization that the one in the grass laughed just like Wei Wuxian, and his heart felt like it was going to stop when he saw the familiar face of the one on the sword.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>That was Lan Wangji’s son.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The distinguished Hanguang Jun’s son was breaking curfew.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Wei Wuxian would get a kick out of this.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The song resonated further throughout the night, and Jiang Cheng turned his head to face the direction that it came from, but could not locate a singular point. The laughter stopped, and he quickly turned back to see the Lan boys had stopped their tomfoolery and were both standing together, brushing themselves off with gasps of fright, facing him. Were they afraid of him?</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“It’s all right,” one muttered. “He’s not even from our sect.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“We’ll get in trouble. I told you.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Jiang Cheng rolled his eyes and kept walking, away from the two boys, remembering how awful it had felt to be ratted out by the infamous Lan Wangji. He’d spare that brat’s child the agony, but just this once. Besides, the kid was just a little older than Jin Ling.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He suddenly found himself in front of the quarters where the noise was coming from. Too afraid to open the door, he made his way over to the window, pressing his back against the wall, and peered through the window, furrowing his brow curiously.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>That was Lan Wangji in there. He was crying.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>What was he doing…?</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Young Master Jiang?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Jiang Cheng gasped, spinning around, afraid that he’d been caught by Lan Qiren. It was silly that the fear was so instilled in him, but he flinched away, ready to run, only to be stopped dead in his tracks by a kindly and handsome gaze. He was in such shock that he barely remembered to bow.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Lan XiChen. Long time no see.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Lan XiChen nodded in agreement. “Yes, I suppose it has been.”</span>
</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0004"><h2>4. Chapter 4</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>The music stopped abruptly, and Jiang Cheng held his breath as he lifted himself up, afraid that Lan Wangji had heard them. Lan XiChen gave him a sympathetic smile and gestured for Jiang Cheng to follow him. Jiang Cheng was quite glad to. If Lan Wangji had been scary in his youth, then he must’ve become a monster as an adult. He’d heard about the event that had happened with the thirty three elders. He was not somebody who should be crossed. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I thought you would have remembered the rules. I’ll forgive you for now.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Thank you, Zewu Jun,” Jiang Cheng whispered, unsure of where his confidence had disappeared to. “You truly are as kind as I remember you were. I’m sure your wife is a very lucky lady.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Wife?” Lan XiChen asked, raising his eyebrows. “Has uncle married me off and not told me?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Oh!” Jiang Cheng exclaimed, shaking his head. “I-I just assumed--”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“It’s fine,” Lan XiChen laughed, waving it off. “It’s fine.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Jiang Cheng looked back over his shoulder, making sure that Lan Wangji hadn’t exited to follow them. Thankfully, he hadn’t completely bothered him, although the music had been completely silenced. Did it have something to do with him? Had Lan Wangji sensed him? But it was only music. It couldn’t be that personal.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“What about your brother?” Jiang Cheng muttered. A cold breeze rushed through the Cloud Recesses, and he quickly wrapped his arms around his torso, trying to pull his clothing tighter around himself. “He has a child, but I haven’t heard anything about a wife. He seems rather lonely lately.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I haven’t asked him about that. It seems like his own business. He can handle himself.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Jiang Cheng nodded politely, but internally, he felt frustration bubbling up. This Lan sect was so secretive. How could they stand such isolation from the world? It was almost as though they didn’t know how humans acted, like they were only copying what they saw from everyone else around them, only they could not leave their internal yet extremely loud sense of righteousness behind, so they seemed only half-human. But what would the other half be…? He didn’t know.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I see,” Jiang Cheng huffed. “But what I don’t see is why you’ve called me here.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I was waiting for you to ask that, actually,” Lan XiChen sighed, almost disappointedly, as though he’d been dragged back to reality. “It’s not the best affair in the world. It has my little brother quite worked up. It’s why he can’t sleep at all, actually. It pains me to see him suffer so.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Jiang Cheng glared at Lan XiChen. “Don’t tell me that you dragged me here just so your brother would get out of a depressive slump. No offense, Zewu Jun, but I’m a sect leader, not a private counselor. I--”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“It’s the Yiling Patriarch.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Jiang Cheng’s jaw snapped shut as the wind picked up, nearly knocking him off of his feet. Lan XiChen grabbed him by his arm to keep him from falling over, his grip tender and yet strong. Jiang Cheng held his breath, squeezing his eyes shut. He could see the look on Wei Wuxian’s face, one of release and yet anguish, the look on his face as he… as he died. He could feel the blood and adrenaline coursing through his body, feel the anger of his ancestors staring down at both of them, unsure which of the two they were more disappointed with--no, he knew they were always more disappointed with him, that they would always accept Wei Wuxian over him.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Attempt the impossible.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He’d thought it impossible that Wei Wuxian could die.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Jiang Cheng steeled himself. “What happened regarding him?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“We’ve found a flicker of his soul. It’s light, but it’s there. He’s trapped.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“How…” Jiang Cheng whispered. “How do you know?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Lan XiChen closed his eyes, serenely, and yet behind them, he could see the deepest of turmoil. He could suddenly notice the dark circles under Lan XiChen’s eyes. How long had it been since he’d slept.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“My nephew found it,” Lan XiChen whispered. “He played his guqin, practicing Inquiry, and a fragment of a spirit came to talk to him. It said that it was Wei Wuxian. It said that it was trapped on a mountain. It said that… it said…”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“It said…?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“That it missed its family.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The guqin strummed again, but it was a different tune. It was something that felt like it was trying to pull the entire world toward it, a vortex into which everything disappeared. Spirits caught the wind, travelling toward the little house, floating on the breeze with a viscosity just barely greater than water. Jiang Cheng looked up at the rainbow of colors, his eyes wide in shock at how inherently beautiful the dead were. He almost wondered what his spirit looked like, what color it would glow when it was released.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>But he could feel that Wei Wuxian was not among them.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He knew in his heart that Lan Wangji would not find him that night.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“We’re going to find him.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yes,” Lan XiChen muttered, his grip tightening on Jiang Cheng’s wrist, as though trying to comfort him, trying to remind him that someone else in this world existed. “We’ll try our hardest.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Jiang Cheng’s heart tightened in his chest. Even though he’d figured out how to hold his tears inside of him, he could feel them budding upon his eyelid. His golden core churned within him, almost yearning, spinning excitedly. He could almost register a hand against his hair, gentle fingers brushing through it, trying to calm his soul, trying to keep it from flying from his body and joining the parade that was making its way to Lan Wangji.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Even if he hated Wei Wuxian… he still wanted to see his soul one last time.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He wanted to know if he was angry.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He wanted to know if he had forever lost one of the last members of his family.</span>
</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0005"><h2>5. Chapter 5</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>Jiang Cheng always dreamed of death. He could only dream of blood and decay, ever since the deaths of his parents. It had gotten worse the more he lived, as he accumulated more and more knowledge, as he pushed into the world and looked around with the eyes of an adult rather than those of a child. The number of his dreams grew with the more people who died in front of him. He could see their faces haunting him, taunting him, dancing around him so sadistically that he wanted to rip them apart with his whip. He wanted to rip the only people he’d ever loved apart when their bodies were already loosening themselves in their graves. When he awoke from his dream that night, the dream that so easily came to him after Lan XiChen had escorted him back to his room and left him in peace, the only thing he could think was that Wei Wuxian had never been there. Was it because his soul was not free enough to torment him? The second thing that he thought about was the Lan sect. They were a strange group of people, that was sure enough, especially since they brandished the colors of death with pride. He’d never known anyone to wholly accept death. Perhaps they did. Perhaps that was why they could speak to spirits, because they were unafraid. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Lan XiChen seemed like the sort of person who would be afraid of ghosts, though… but then again, the sect leader had a kind disposition. Someone with such an attitude toward the world, someone who seemed so accepting toward anything, would rather befriend a threat than get rid of it. It was quite charming actually. He could see Lan XiChen being a philanthropist. How noble. If Jiang Cheng were partial to friends anymore, Lan XiChen was the sort of person he’d want to be his closest confidante. His arm burned where Lan XiChen had touched him, where his fingers had clamped down around him. How long could the memory of a person scar the skin, even when no physical wound had been made? That hadn’t ever happened with anyone Jiang Cheng had met before. Maybe Lan XiChen was truly a special sort of person.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Jiang Cheng dressed himself immediately, remembering that he was up late by the standards, although from the look of the window, it could only have been seven or eight o’clock in the morning. When he was younger, that would mean that he wouldn’t get any breakfast and be late to the lectures that Lan Qiren held. He wondered what that old man was doing. Still kicking about, no doubt, and Jiang Cheng had no doubt that even a grand-nephew wouldn’t pacify his bad temper.</span>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>“You’re one to talk about tempers.”</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>“Will you please shut up? I’m trying to focus.”</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>“You weren’t focusing two seconds ago when you were going on and on about what a horrible fiend that Lan Qiren is! It almost sounded as though he’d personally scorned you!”</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>“Well, he is! Giving us so much homework… it can’t be good for our golden cores.”</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>“Lan XiChen seems to be fine with his core. Not as strong as yours or mine, though..”</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>“Why would you bring up Lan XiChen at a time like this?”</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <span>Wei Wuxian had never answered that question. He wasn’t quite partial to answering questions at all. That brat would make such a horrid teacher, even worse than Lan Qiren. Well, almost. At least he wouldn’t throw books at his students. He remembered that one had left a dent in Nie Huaisang’s head for quite some time. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Jiang Cheng walked to the doors and reached out to open them, only for them to slide open on their own. He gasped, jumping back, only to see that Lan XiChen was standing there, looking at him in a concerned manner. Jiang Cheng quickly composed himself, crossing his arms over his chest.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“The Lan sect is quite renowned for its manners,” Jiang Cheng huffed. “You could learn how to knock, Zewu Jun.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I did.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>There was a pause as Jiang Cheng’s ears turned a light pink. “Oh. I should’ve listened.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Lan XiChen’s mouth opened, about to say something, only to stop abruptly, his eyes travelling to Jiang Cheng’s torso. He leaned forward, reaching out his hand, but Jiang Cheng stepped back, his eyes wide in surprise. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Your sash isn’t tied correctly,” Lan XiChen said. “I was going to fix it for you.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Lan XiChen reached forward again and tied the sash properly as Jiang Cheng froze, feeling as though he were being stalked by a predator. Lan XiChen rose back up, a smile on his face as he nodded to Jiang Cheng politely and stepped aside, gesturing for him to walk forward first. Jiang Cheng took a wobbly step forward, taking a deep breath, feeling as though he’d forgotten how to breathe, but managed to regain his confident stride as Lan XiChen followed behind him, silently, a nearly eternal serene smile on his face, placating even the largest misgivings still in Jiang Cheng’s heart.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>How kind Lan XiChen was.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Lan XiChen took him to a large hall, in which Lan Wangji was already seated, sipping at a small teacup as a book was splayed out before him. He slowly put down the cup and stood up, bowing when he saw Jiang Cheng, which he returned back to the young master, before Lan Wangji sat back down again, his golden eyes boring into Jiang Cheng’s soul. Jiang Cheng sat down across from him, and Lan XiChen sat between the two, polite and proper.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Did you tell him?” Lan Wangji whispered, his eyes hopeful. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>That was more than Jiang Cheng had ever heard him speak in his life.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“He told me about the Yiling Patriarch’s soul,” Jiang Cheng answered before Lan XiChen could speak, letting the sect leader merely nod and begin to pour him a cup of tea. “And how it’s hidden in the mountains. We have to get it, no? We should leave right away.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“We don’t know where,” Lan XiChen sighed softly. “The spirit was quite vague.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Jiang Cheng groaned. “I suppose I shouldn’t expect anything less from Wei Wuxian.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Lan Wangji looked quite scandalized, but didn’t say anything. He merely glared at Jiang Cheng, just once, before Lan XiChen placed his hand on his wrist, placating his younger brother. Jiang Cheng rolled his eyes and drank from the cup that Lan XiChen had set out for him, a soft smile resting across his face.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Black Tea had always been his favorite. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Lan XiChen really did think of everything.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Then what are we waiting for?” Jiang Cheng asked, his voice much quieter than before. He set the cup back down on the table, careful not to let it spill. “An invitation? He needs to tell us where he is right now.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“He didn’t respond to anyone except for A-Yuan,” Lan XiChen explained. “He came close to telling us where he was, but A-Yuan had trouble with the guqin, and when Lan Wangji moved to help him, the Yiling Patriarch had disappeared. He hasn’t been heard from since, although A-Yuan sometimes gets little bits and pieces from him. This morning, he attempted to contact him. I tried to wake you, but your disciples were rather insistent that you sleep in.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Jiang Cheng would have to give them a stern talking to. He found it a bit hilarious that Wei Wuxian still harbored a grudge against Lan Wangji, even in death. “What did the spirit say then?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“It was muddled,” Lan Wangji muttered. “Only single words.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Lan XiChen nodded. “Hatred. Traitor. Trapped. Reincarnation.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Jiang Cheng narrowed his eyes. “Any spirit could say those things.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“It was him!” Lan Wangji insisted.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Why was Lan Wangji acting so strange? He acted like he was Wei Wuxian’s husband rather than his lifelong nuisance. Part of Jiang Cheng wanted to snap and tell Lan Wangji to back off, to say that he and Wei Wuxian had never been friends and that he knew nothing, but Jiang Cheng knew that Lan XiChen would not take such words lightly about his brother. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“No matter what spirit it is,” Lan XiChen continued. “It won’t talk without A-Yuan’s hands being on the guqin strings. We’re hoping that he’ll decide to speak more in your presence too.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Jiang Cheng looked down at the cup, the dark liquid pooling in it. He could see his own reflection, distorted and small. He couldn’t believe who he’d become sometimes. He was so different to when he was younger. He was unsure if he would recognize himself if he’d been able to stare forward from the past.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Hanguang Jun! Zewu Jun!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Jiang Cheng turned his head to see the young boy from the middle of the night standing in the doorway, the guqin strapped to his back, bowing deeply to his father and uncle. Lan Wangji stood, almost protectively, and walked over to his son, pressing his hand against his wrist.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“A-Yuan,” Lan Wangji muttered. “You ran too fast. You’ll exhaust yourself.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I’m fine, Hanguang Jun!” the boy exclaimed excitedly. “I’m fine!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Hanguang Jun. Was the boy really so distant from his own father that he could only call him by his title? Even Jin Ling called Jiang Cheng his uncle, and the two weren’t even related so directly. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Perfect, A-Yuan!” Lan XiChen smiled. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>He gestured to the table, quickly taking the teacups and books off of them, moving to put them away. Lan Yuan ran over and took the guqin from his back, placing it carefully on the table as he prepared to play it, quickly bowing to Jiang Cheng when he realized that he was there. Lan Wangji knelt next to him, running his fingers through Lan Yuan’s long hair protectively, sending the slightest glare toward Jiang Cheng before turning his attention back to his child. Lan XiChen sat down beside Jiang Cheng, so close that he could almost feel the warmth radiating off of his body.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“A-Yuan,” Lan XiChen whispered. “You can start now.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yes, Zewu Jun.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Lan Yuan strummed the guqin, playing the same longing tune from the night before, but no souls came to him. He ran his tiny fingers along the strings, trying to summon anything that would speak to him, but he was too much of a novice for anything to come. Jiang Cheng felt the hope that had once swollen in his chest die down with disappointment with the realization that it had been a fluke. That was all.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Then, Lan Yuan’s fingers stilled on the string. There was only silence.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>And one of the strings moved by itself.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He could hear Wei Wuxian’s voice, as though he were in the room with him.</span>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>“Jiang Cheng.”</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <span>“Wei Wuxian!” Jiang Cheng exclaimed, his eyes wide. </span>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>“Don’t be mad at me.”</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <span>“A-Yuan,” Lan XiChen muttered soothingly, pressing his hand against Jiang Cheng’s back, trying to relax him by pressing on a pressure point. “Could you ask him where he is?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Lan Yuan nodded, passing his fingers lightly along the strings. There was silence.</span>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>“I don’t know. It’s dark. It’s dark and I don’t know!”</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <span>He sounded almost panicked. Jiang Cheng reached forward, trying to comfort him in any way possible, but Lan Wangji batted him away, afraid to lose any chance to speak with Wei Wuxian. Lan Yuan strummed the guqin again, more desperately, trying to push him for an answer.</span>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>“It hasn’t found me yet, but I know it will. If it gets me, it will try to change me.”</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <span>“Change him?” Jiang Cheng gasped, looking at Lan XiChen in confusion. “How?”</span>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>“It wants me to come back. It’s been shifting events in its favor. It’s going to hurt me!”</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <span>“Wei Ying…” Lan Wangji muttered.</span>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>“I’m divided, Lan Zhan. My soul is shattered. Someone has the rest of me and I can’t speak there. I can’t be complete if he doesn’t have all of me. But it wants to hurt me. It wants to change me.”</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <span>Lan Yuan’s fingers left the strings, his eyes wide in horror. Jiang Cheng wanted to yell at him, tell him to put them back, but the child was much too scared to move. The strings warbled once more.</span>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>“Behind the Burial Mounds. I think I’m there.”</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <span>Then, the guqin went silent.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>And nothing moved for a long time after that. </span>
</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0006"><h2>6. Chapter 6</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>I decided to post a chapter before my AP Test to try to keep my nerves from getting to me. I don't think it helped.<br/>Thank you so much for reading this! I know it seems a bit erratic right now, but I'm hoping that it'll make sense soon.</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>Jiang Cheng didn’t stay for dinner. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>He was sure he’d never have an appetite ever again and he certainly didn’t want to talk to anyone after the communication with Wei Wuxian’s supposed soul. Everything in the world seemed like it was heavier than it had been before, as though gravity had suddenly intensified. He could tell that Lan XiChen wanted him to stay, wanted to talk about what they’d just seen, but he was much too overwhelmed to. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Besides, there was that glare in Lan Wangji’s eyes. Lan Wangji was even more hostile than he’d been as a teenager. He was overprotective of his child too, Lan Yuan. After they’d contacted the spirit, Lan Yuan had collapsed. And Lan Wangji had looked at Jiang Cheng as though it were his fault, as though all of this was of his own devising.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Jiang Cheng didn’t go home. He couldn’t. He didn’t go back to his rooms either. Instead, he went down to the river where he’d once played with Wei Wuxian and Nie Huaisang, standing on the edge, staring out at the rapids rumbling through the landscape in a torrent, a whirlpool of chaos. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>It was unchanged.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>And there was no sign that any of them had existed in the years past.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Jiang Cheng had taught himself not to cry, but now he was finding it difficult to remember how. All he wanted to do was scream into the night, into the void of stars above him, to ask the other worlds if they heard him, if they could feel his suffering from so far away.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Lan Wangji looked at him like it was his fault. Lan Wangji was right.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Jiang Cheng’s hand coiled into a fist and he turned, punching into a tree that he’d once seen Wei Wuxian leaning against so cockily, his arms crossed and his eyebrows raised as though he knew more than everyone else. Pain flooded through his hand and he could feel bones crack within it, and he could feel a hot flow of blood trickling from an opening in his skin that had scraped against the bark, but he didn’t care. He pulled back his hand to punch it again, barely stifling a growl in his throat, when he felt a presence behind him.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He spun around and tried to recoil, pressing his back against the tree with a gasp.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Zewu Jun!” Jiang Cheng gasped, quickly looking away. “Shouldn’t you be with your sect?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I was worried about you,” Lan XiChen said, with an honesty that only children and fools could master. He reached forward, gently taking hold of Jiang Cheng’s aching wrist, and held it close to himself, but Jiang Cheng yanked his hand away. “You’re hurt.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I’m fine!” Jiang Cheng snapped, crossing his arms. “I wouldn’t want to get blood on your white robes anyway.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Lan XiChen furrowed his brow and turned back to look at the river. “I remember how happy we all were in our youth. Even my little brother. If I could turn back time, if I could stop the Wens before they struck… I would give my life to do it.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“What noble sentiment. But that’s impossible.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I know.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Lan XiChen sat down on the river bank, staring forward at the water, wrapping his arms around his knees. He didn’t look much like a sect leader then and there, and not much like one of the Twin Jades either. He looked almost normal. He looked almost like Jiang Cheng had felt.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Jiang Cheng sighed, sitting down next to him. “I’m sorry.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Lan XiChen nodded, his old eyes upon his old face taking Jiang Cheng’s attention away from him. He didn’t act very much like a Lan at all, and yet his eyes were as old as the sect upon a porcelain face. He looked like he’d seen so much, and yet the rest of his body was practically untouched by the world. He was almost ethereal.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“We’ll find Wei Wuxian,” Lan XiChen affirmed. “I promise.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Jiang Cheng bit his lip nervously. “How do you know?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I feel it,” Lan XiChen said. “He’s behind the Burial Mounds. There are mountains there, and I’ve heard much about supernatural happenings in those places. That solves one of our queries. I suppose we’ll find out who’s behind this when we get there.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“He said that someone has the rest of him,” Jiang Cheng remembered. “But he wasn’t as frightened when talking about that person as when he talked about the thing that wanted to hurt him. I think that means that the person could be considered an ally to us.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Lan XiChen narrowed his eyes. “And he talks about the thing that wanted to hurt him as something inhuman. I think we may be dealing with an object rather than a person, although someone may be controlling it as well.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Like the Stygian Tiger Amulet.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Exactly.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Jiang Cheng was tired. He leaned his head against Lan XiChen’s shoulder without even thinking about what he was doing, closing his eyes. They ached from being open too much. Sometimes, he wanted to fall asleep forever, to never wake up and face the world ever again. He lived with too many regrets to want to stay awake.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He never realized that other people had heartbeats before, or rather, he didn’t remember. Lan XiChen’s was a surprise to him. But somehow, it was so warm, so comforting, that it rocked him to sleep without incidence.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>It was like Lan XiChen’s heart was another home to him</span>
</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0007"><h2>7. Chapter 7</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>Jiang Cheng didn’t know how long he’d slept, for he had no idea that he’d been asleep at all. His dreams, ones which were usually plagued by the nightmarish faces of the dead, had been so peaceful that he’d hardly even known that he was still alive. The beating of Lan XiChen’s heart had still been there, though, joyously reminding him of his existence with every single beat, every moment reminding him that others existed in the world, until it had suddenly vanished. That was when he’d opened his eyes and realized that he was lying on the ground, wrapped in Lan XiChen’s outer robes, ones warming him from the night. He blearily sat up with a yawn, running his fingers against the strange material on top of him, softer than a spider’s silk, and wondered how the prestigious Lan clan would ever have something so valuable, so worldly, in their possession.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He looked over to the river to see the little Lan--Lan Yuan--standing in the midst of the rapids, meditating, his sword poised in one hand, the current rushing against its blade. He remembered hearing Wei Wuxian talk about Lan Wangji, how Lan Wangji would go to the Cold Springs to relax and cultivate. But this wasn’t the Cold Springs, and this didn’t look like meditation. Instead, it looked like the child was guarding something.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Aren’t you cold?” Jiang Cheng whispered, instantly thinking of Jin Ling.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Lan Yuan’s strange little eyes opened and he turned his head to look at Jiang Cheng, a small smile crossing his face. “While the Cold Springs bring an eternal chill, the river brings warmth.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Jiang Cheng furrowed his brow. He remembered how the river had always been the right temperature for the day, no matter how hot or cold it was. “I see, Lan--”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“A-Yuan,” the child smiled. “Everyone calls me A-Yuan, and they will until I have my courtesy name.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“A-Yuan,” Jiang Cheng said, tasting the word. “I have a nephew around your age.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“The Young Master Jin, right?” A-Yuan asked. “I’ve heard of him.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Jiang Cheng stood up, taking the outer robe carefully and folding it in his arms. “I see. A-Yuan, where did Zewu Jun go?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I came by for my morning lesson from the river, and Zewu Jun asked me if I’d watch over you while he attended to his business with Great Uncle, Father, and a representative of the Nie Clan.”</span>
</p><p><span>“The Nie Clan?” Jiang Cheng muttered. “Why them?”</span><span><br/></span> <span>“Well, he’s not really from the Nie sect,” A-Yuan muttered, almost distastefully. “Or Jin, actually, even though he’s one of their children. He’s from the Mo family, I think. He’s acting a bit strange.”</span></p><p>
  <span>“Mo Xuanyu?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“He’s always strange, actually,” A-Yuan continued. “Like he’s insane. He spies on people, I think, and rambles on and on about nonsense. I once saw him watching my friend and I as we practiced balancing on our swords. Not like you watched us, of course. Like, he was hiding in the bushes, even though we could see him, and muttering to himself. Something about the Wens. I don’t understand why, of course. Perhaps he knows something about--”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“The Wens?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>A-Yuan gasped, clapping his hand over his mouth, like he’d done something wrong. He shook his head, shyly evading Jiang Cheng. Jiang Cheng bit his lip and looked back toward the buildings in the distance.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I’m sorry,” A-Yuan muttered. “I spoke out of turn.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The child likely thought that he’d brought up bad memories by bringing up that dastardly sect, that awful family. Jiang Cheng sighed, shaking his head, and reached forward, holding out his hand. A-Yuan looked over nervously, sheathing his sword at his waist, and took his hand, letting Jiang Cheng pull him out of the water, his clothes sticking to his body. Jiang Cheng quickly took the outer robe and wrapped it around A-Yuan to shield him from the wind.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Your father would kill me if you caught a cold,” Jiang Cheng muttered. “Well, I’m sure that he’d kill you if he knew we were talking at all.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Father isn’t as bad as you think…” A-Yuan sighed, before nodding resolutely. “I’ll tell Zewu Jun that you’re awake.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Jiang Cheng watched as A-Yuan ran away, the oversized outer robe billowing behind him in the wind. He sighed as the child ran back into the clusters of little houses, his mind wandering back to thoughts of Wei Wuxian. He remembered that Wei Wuxian had taken his own father’s robes one day when they were that age, after they’d played in the lakes of Yunmeng, and ran off to meet their sister on the docks for lotus rib soup.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>His father had never given him his robes.  He’d gone back to the docks drenched, and he’d gotten very sick after. He only hoped that Lan Wangji treated the child better than his own parents did to him.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>To all of them.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Who was the child’s mother…?</span>
</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0008"><h2>8. Chapter 8</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>Jiang Cheng followed A-Yuan back to the buildings, although he let the boy run into Lan Wangji’s house without issue, instead electing to attempt to find Mo Xuanyu and ask why he was there. After all, he’d just seen the boy a few days before with Jin Guangyao and Jin Ling and, as far as he knew, he had no plans on going to visit the Nie sect, much less become a representative of theirs. It was such an odd thing to consider, especially when thinking about the behavior that A-Yuan had said he’d exhibited. Mo Xuanyu was more… anxious. He sometimes verbalized his thoughts and hid behind people, but as far as Jiang Cheng knew, he’d never been partial to spying on people or drawing more attention to himself than necessary. The Mo Xuanyu he knew was partial to making people forget that he even existed. If he could, he would make himself disappear, and Jiang Cheng was sure that nobody would even notice. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>He finally made his way to the hall where he had seen A-Yuan contact the spirit, one that was crowded with students, including the one he’d seen training with A-Yuan. He pushed past them, shooing some of the younger ones away to go to the class that would surely be held later that day, one that they had likely skipped, and slipped into the room, trying to keep from being noticed as he stayed near the doors, watching the young man clad in greyish green robes, trembling visibly as he breathed heavily.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Somehow, he seemed taller than before. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>But Jiang Cheng hadn’t spent too much time around Mo Xuanyu to notice that much.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Lan XiChen looked up from Mo Xuanyu, the serene smile plastered on his face turning to a grin of excitement as he quickly moved his hand, motioning for Jiang Cheng to join him. Jiang Cheng felt heat rush to his face and shook his head as Lan XiChen quickly returned to the matter at hand, his younger brother sending a glare toward Jiang Cheng for the distraction.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Sect Leader Lan…” Mo Xuanyu whispered, his voice barely audible above the silence of the air around him. “Nie Huaisang of the Nie sect has humbly sent me to beg you for assistance.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Assistance?” Lan XiChen said, his face suddenly turning grave. Jiang Cheng didn’t know what Lan XiChen had expected. Perhaps his previous relationship with his sworn brother had softened him to the antics of the Nie sect, as he had with the Jin sect. Perhaps he’d expected to be invited to tea. “Of what nature?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Of the supernatural variety,” Mo Xuanyu continued, desperately trying to keep his voice from rising in fear. If anyone had asked Jiang Cheng, he would’ve said that the entire act that his brother-in-law was putting on seemed particularly vague. “Some of the Nie sect disciples went onto a night hunt a few weeks ago, and they wandered onto Du Yi Mountain. Only one returned, half-crazed, speaking of a demonic entity that had murdered two of their members brutally in the deep caverns, while the last member had been found swarming with maggots.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Why isn’t Nie Huaisang here to speak then?” Jiang Cheng asked, furrowing his brow. “Why did he ask someone from a completely different sect to speak on his behalf then?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Mo Xuanyu spun around, surprise flying across his face as he quickly bowed to Jiang Cheng. “Sect Leader Jiang! I-I--”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Young Master Mo explained it to us,” Lan XiChen explained before Mo Xuanyu could be wracked with a desperate panic attack when confronted with such a harsh visage. “He got a letter from the Nie sect yesterday begging him to speak on their behalf. Nie Huaisang is afraid that people will not believe him about the urgency of the situation. He lent Young Master Mo his robes in order to act as an official representative.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Jiang Cheng narrowed his eyes, but let the strange occurrence slide. Nie Huaisang often orchestrated these sorts of schemes. Anyone who thought that he was truly the Head-Shaker was sorely mistaken. He’d never been innocent or stupid, even when he was young. He just lacked drive. This had to be one of his plans.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Even more concerning, though, was the involvement of Du Yi Mountain.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>It was one of the many behind the Burial Mounds.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>And it seemed that Lan XiChen had already noticed that much.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“The Lan Clan and Sect would be honored to help investigate this crisis,” Lan XiChen said with a bow of his head, attempting to swallow his own excitement at the clue so benevolently given to them. “We will construct a group of four and explore the mountains in order to find the cause of these strange happenings. Jiang Cheng and Lan Wangji will accompany myself while Lan Qiren takes care of the sect before us. Would you join us as well, Mo Xuanyu?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Mo Xuanyu meekly looked down. “I-I… I wouldn’t be of much help.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Nie Huasiang entrusted you with this mission. It would be extremely beneficial to all of us if you attended.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Mo Xuanyu looked around at all of the faces staring forward at him, and quickly nodded, before excusing himself, and quickly rushing from the room. Jiang Cheng watched his flight and quickly ran over to Lan Wangji and Lan XiChen, the former of whom standing and walking out of the room and the latter of whom smiling with glee, grabbing Jiang Cheng comfortingly by his arms.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I don’t think we can trust Mo Xuanyu,” Jiang Cheng whispered, turning his head to ensure that nobody was overhearing him. “Zewu Jun, he’s acting so suspicious. I wouldn’t let him come with us if I were you.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Sect Leader Jiang,” Lan XiChen whispered, shaking his head trustingly. “Mo Xuanyu is known as one of Nie Huasiang’s closest confidantes. There is no reason why he would lie about such matters, and there is certainly no reason why Nie Huaisang would lie about this sort of thing. Besides, he’s sent Mo Xuanyu to visit us with concerns multiple times. They trust one another, so I trust him.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Zewu Jun…”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Besides, we know where Wei Wuxian is likely to be,” Lan XiChen whispered with an urging nod. “Du Yi Mountain. It all works out correctly. If we’ve been contacting the correct spirit, which I am sure of, then the events line up, then we can save him if we go there right now.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“But even if what Mo Xuanyu says is true, that means that many people died!” Jiang Cheng argued, almost pleadingly as he stared into Lan XiChen’s determined eyes. “We shouldn’t go with only four people. What if… what if we took more people with us? We could ask the Nie and Jin sects if they can spare more people, or go to smaller sects, like Baling Ouyang, or villages. We shouldn’t blindly go into danger.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Sect Leader Jiang,” Lan XiChen whispered. “Wei Wuxian only showed himself to certain people, and I’m afraid that if we bring too many people--too many people who may think that he is still guilty of horrible crimes--we will never find him. And you want to find him, don’t you?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Jiang Cheng sighed in defeat. “I do. I just--”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Then trust me,” Lan XiChen whispered. “Please.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Jiang Cheng stared down into Lan XiChen’s eyes, his honest and clear eyes, almost ghostlike in the light of the early morning. He had a bad feeling, a creeping sensation down his back like a spider, that such a thing would lead them all to their ends. He didn’t trust Nie Huaisang and he certainly did not trust Mo Xuanyu.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>But Lan XiChen did.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>And he wanted to see his brother again.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“O-Okay…”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Lan XiChen smiled again, pulling Jiang Cheng into a comforting hug, trying to combat and abate the terror within him, heartbeats pulsing against one another. Jiang Cheng’s nervous feeling didn’t go away, though, but rather, it intensified. He felt like he was a lamb being led to slaughter at the hands of a lying, conniving wolf, and he felt like Lan XiChen was right there within him, too distracted by the shininess of the animal’s teeth to notice the sharpness. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>He had to go. He had to go to protect the rest of them from whatever may happen. They might not think that anything was wrong, but he did. And if he couldn’t stop them, then he would at least try to be their source of clarity, at least attempt to see through the veil of lies and darkness.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>And, perhaps, they were right.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Perhaps he’d be able to see Wei Wuxian one last time.</span>
</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0009"><h2>9. Chapter 9</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>Jiang Cheng didn’t know that Lan Wangji kept rabbits in the Cloud Recesses.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He’d tried to leave, to relax, to avoid the constant gaze and muttering of Mo Xuanyu, who seemed to make a habit of following him around all day, of trying to gage his reaction. Even when Jiang Cheng had screamed at him to go away, the young man still wouldn’t let up, until he felt a hand grab him by the arm and pull him off of his feet into a distant field, where Mo Xuanyu either was unable to follow or didn’t dare to. When they landed, Jiang Cheng looked up at his savior, expecting the grip to belong to Lan XiChen, only to be faced with the stoic visage of the younger sibling. He quickly pulled his arm away with a huff, smoothing out his sleeve as Lan Wangji walked over to the congregation of bunnies and sat down, pulling a packet out of his robes. He opened it and began to spread hay among them, which they quickly rushed to devour.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He’d never realized how young Lan Wangji seemed. That was insane. Lan Wangji was older than he was, somewhere between his and Wei Wuxian’s age, but right now, he seemed so babyfaced, as though he hadn’t participated in the Sunshot Campaign and the eventual downfall of Wei Wuxian, as though he didn’t bear the marks of pain, of whips and scars.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Thank you,” Jiang Cheng whispered, the words falling from his mouth without his permission. Lan Wangji looked up at him, his normal glare turning inquisitive, as Jiang Cheng sat down with a huff. “You didn’t have to do me a favor. I could’ve handled Mo Xuanyu myself.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Not a favor for you.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Jiang Cheng rolled his eyes with a laugh. “Then who was it for? Don’t tell me it was out of the goodness of your heart. The rumors all say that it’s as cold as ice, as hard as stone, you know.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Two people,” Lan Wangji muttered, taking a black rabbit into his lap, petting it softly. “One is Wei Ying.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Please. You two weren’t even that close.” Lan Wangji’s glare returned and his hand pressed against the hilt of his sword threateningly. Jiang Cheng raised his hands sarcastically in surrender. “Fine, fine. You seem to think that you have some sort of special connection to him. Let’s hear about it then.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Not your business.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Fine then,” Jiang Cheng muttered. “Be so vague about your emotions.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You’re one to talk.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Jiang Cheng decided not to ask what Lan Wangji meant by that. He stood up again, brushing off his robes, and started to storm off, only to remember who awaited him back in the more populated regions of the Cloud Recesses. He spun back around, crossing his arms in front of him with an arched eyebrow.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“A-Yuan is such a sweet child,” Jiang Cheng said. “Did his mother raise him instead of you?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“His father is dead.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Jiang Cheng bit the inside of his cheek, feeling blood pool in his mouth. He thought about what that meant, unsure until he took into consideration how Lan Wangji seemed to act when everything concerned Wei Wuxian, how they called one another by their birth names, how they’d spent so much time in each other’s company, how Wei Wuxian’s soul only reacted to A-Yuan’s presence…</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Oh,” Jiang Cheng breathed. “So, A-Yuan is Wei Wuxian’s…”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Mm.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Jiang Cheng’s forehead creased. “But were you two in a relationship or--?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“No. It was entirely unrequited.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“A-Yuan…” Jiang Cheng muttered, thinking carefully about when Wei Wuxian could've adopted such a child. The only time he could think of--with the dates being accurate--was when he was in the Burial Mounds. But that was during the time when he was living with the Wens. That didn’t make any... they were only women, old people, and… children. “He’s a Wen then?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Mm.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Jiang Cheng could see the look of fear in Lan Wangji’s eyes, examining how he may react, and the hand coiling around his sword tighter, the skin of his hand growing white with the pressure. But Jiang Cheng couldn’t think about his past at all. He couldn’t think about how much the Wens had wronged him. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>He could only think about…</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Mo Xuanyu knows.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“What?” Lan Wangji whispered, setting the rabbit down, standing up in shock.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“A-Yuan said something,” Jiang Cheng whispered. “He said that Mo Xuanyu once watched him and muttered something about the Wens. I-I think Mo Xuanyu knows about his past.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Lan Wangji didn’t bother to spare Jiang Cheng another glance, and instead, ran back to the buildings, likely to go meet his son again, to pull him away from the potential gaze of Mo Xuanyu. Jiang Cheng closed his eyes as he took a deep breath, trying to think about the few times that he’d met Mo Xuanyu. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>This was an entirely different side to him. It was bold, it was daring, and it was infinitely more insane. He knew that Lan XiChen wouldn’t believe him. From what he could see, this version of Mo Xuanyu had visited the Cloud Recesses a lot, even if they hadn’t been completely aware of the behavior exhibited. But it was almost as though Mo Xuanyu was a completely different person.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>But he had Mo Xuanyu’s face. He had Mo Xuanyu’s mannerisms. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Who else could this person be?</span>
</p><p>
  <span>And what did he have to do with Nie Huaisang?</span>
</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0010"><h2>10. Chapter 10</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>Jiang Cheng should’ve heeded the bedtime in the Cloud Recesses. After all, he didn’t want to be beat when he was an adult, especially when he had a long journey in the morning. But he had to see what exactly was happening in regards to Mo Xuanyu. His bad feeling about the young man was growing increasingly, and he could hardly tell whether he was right or the one going insane, subject to the inane mental disorder that he’d heard about on a few occasions that could convince a person that someone they’d known forever could have been replaced by someone else. But he’d know if he was going insane, wouldn’t he? Well… Lan XiChen seemed to think he was. Maybe Jiang Cheng was being stupid, but if there was even a chance that Mo Xuanyu could hurt them, or even get them all killed, then he’d have to act on his hunch whether he wanted to or not. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>He slipped underneath the window of Mo Xuanyu’s room, listening intently to the madman’s lullaby, although it was barely words, more like disjointed vowels and consonants. His voice sounded deeper than usual. It sounded his age, the age of someone in his late teens, or early twenties even, if he could be given that much, but it sounded much different than his usual inflection. He sounded almost like he was celebrating, almost like he’d won. Then, the noise stopped with a gasp, a realization that someone was there.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Sect Leader Jiang?” Mo Xuanyu asked, his voice slow and cautious. “What exactly are you doing outside of my window?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Jiang Cheng jolted up to see Mo Xuanyu leaning out the window, almost menacingly, a large smile painted across his face. He stood with a gasp, unsure of how the boy had known he was there. He was sure that his breathing hadn’t been too loud, and there wasn’t enough outside noise to jarr someone from their habits inside of their rooms.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I was meaning to see you,” Jiang Cheng struggled to find the words. “I dropped--!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Mo Xuanyu grinned wider and Jiang Cheng’s words faltered away as the boy began tapping his fingers against the windowsill, almost impatiently, forming a pattern between his three larger fingers, sounding almost like water dripping after a violent rain torrent. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I’m glad to be working with you. I’m sure we’ll find the Yiling Patriarch’s spirit soon.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Jiang Cheng stood up straighter, trying to disguise his fear with bravado. “How did you know about that?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Some people talk too loud, and some spirits talk even louder. Wei Wuxian was one for chatter, wasn’t he? His spirit shines, even if it’s invisible to us right now. It… shines…”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Shines?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“It’s what I quite like about the books and manuscripts he wrote,” Mo Xuanyu whispered, one hand pushing into his robes and pulling out large stacks of paper with scrawls of scratchy writing that Jiang Cheng instantly recognized as Wei Wuxian’s. “Jin Guangshan had many of these, and I managed to take some. They have nearly everything in them.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Zidian flared in Jiang Cheng’s grip, but he could not strike Mo Xuanyu just yet. Instead, he glowered, using it as a threat. “You’re a demonic cultivator!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Isn’t everyone nowadays?” Mo Xuanyu muttered sweetly. “Isn’t everyone?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“How did you know that Wei Wuxian was on Du Yi Mountain?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Mo Xuanyu simply closed the window, a look spreading across his face, one of threat and violence, one of someone trying to keep themself together against a tide of lunacy. Jiang Cheng realized suddenly how weak his knees were from the encounter, and collapsed onto the ground, Zidian’s humming electricity striking his knee, as though trying to shock him back to reality. He stayed there until dawn, at which time Mo Xuanyu emerged, his facade of trembling fright back as he carried his bags, slowly bowing to Jiang Cheng.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“S-Sect… Sect Leader Jiang? What… what are you--?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Jiang Cheng stood and ran back to his rooms, gasping for breath as he gathered his things, closing his eyes, trying to push the image of Mo Xuanyu’s sadistic smile from his mind. Not Mo Xuanyu, not Mo Xuanyu, not Mo Xuanyu.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He’d know if he was going insane.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He was <em>not</em> going insane.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He couldn't be going insane.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He was sure that he wasn’t.</span>
</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0011"><h2>11. Chapter 11</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>Jiang Cheng hoisted his bag over his shoulder as he ran to meet Lan XiChen, who was waiting at the entrance to Gusu Lan, waiting for everyone to arrive so that they could depart. Jiang Cheng looked around, trying to make sure that Mo Xuanyu wasn’t among them, failing to look where he was going, tripping over a precariously placed rock. He fell forward with a gasp, only for Lan XiChen’s arm to reach out, the barest amount of strength keeping him from hitting the ground, lifting him to his feet. Jiang Cheng let out a breath of air that he’d been holding for the longest time, ever since Mo Xuanyu had spoken to him the night before.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He probably wouldn’t be able to tell Lan XiChen about what had transpired.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Lan XiChen likely wouldn’t believe him.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Zewu Jun,” Jiang Cheng muttered. “My apologies.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Not at all,” Lan XiChen whispered, pulling Jiang Cheng closer to him, as though he were about to reveal a secret. “You should stop apologizing to people for such trivial matters, you know. All of that anxiety takes up a bad place in your head, and that bad place is bound to grow.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Jiang Cheng furrowed his brow. “It’s only human to be suspicious.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yes, but if you keep too much in your head, then that suspicion begins to fester, to rot.” Lan XiChen grew closer to Jiang Cheng so that they were quite nearly touching one another, atoms just barely upon one another. “When I was younger, I had as much resentment and fear as you, for my little brother and for myself, and our parents. There was so much I wanted to do, but I was so afraid of abandoning everyone, of abandoning my destiny. But I found out soon that the only thing keeping me from doing what I like is myself. No one cares what I do, unless it pertains to them. When it comes to matters of my sect and family, I do what is best. But for matters of the heart, of my own excitement, I do as I please.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Jiang Cheng rolled his eyes and crossed his arms, shifting his weight onto his left hip as he looked away. “You sound more like a Jiang than a Lan. Everyone sounds like more of a Jiang than I.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You sound more like a Lan.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I don’t follow your stuffy rules.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Lan XiChen laughed softly. “Have you met a person who has, other than my brother and uncle? Sometimes, I like to think that my ancestors didn’t even follow them. Sometimes, I think they were little tricksters who implemented the rules to see who follows them. I plan on adding a few when I’m older.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Like what?”</span>
</p><p><span>“Hmm…” Lan XiChen thought, wracking his brain for something that had not already been documented as a sect rule. “How about this one: ‘No burning books’. I quite like that one.”</span><span><br/></span> <span>Jiang Cheng sighed, remembering the days before the Sunshot Campaign, how Lan XiChen had stolen many books from the library and run away. He’d never actually thought that a Lan would be so bold, especially against such a power, like the Wens. But he couldn’t imagine anyone ever burning books, especially with him as a leader, someone who valued such knowledge.</span></p><p><span>“Who would do that?”</span><span><br/></span> <span>Lan XiChen hummed quietly. “Lan Wangji would.”</span></p><p>
  <span>“Lan Wangji?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Wei Wuxian had some rare scripts on demonic cultivation tucked away near A-Yuan. Lan Wangji went through them, trying to find the perfect thing to bring him back, but found nothing. I recommended we put them in the library for further inspection, but he was just so frustrated… he threw the books into the fire, and then remembered that they’d belonged to the Yiling Patriarch, and tried to dive in after it. I just barely kept him from burning. Fire begets fire. First it starts with knowledge, then it gets memory, and then… and then you no longer want to live.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Oh,” Jiang Cheng whispered, thinking of Mo Xuanyu’s books and manuscripts. Lan Wangji would want those too, he supposed, if they could get them away from the young man, that young man who had changed so much… perhaps due to their influence. “I think… I think I’d burn them too.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Lan XiChen sighed. “And that’s the rule you’d break. Along with, what, drinking, acting indecently, cohorting with Wei Wuxian--?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I was young.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Mm,” Lan XiChen laughed. “That was the newest rule instated. It really was that one should not associate with evil, but everyone took it to mean the Yiling Patriarch. An entire generation’s broken that one, I think.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“BUT I WANT TO COME TOO!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Jiang Cheng and Lan XiChen looked over to see Lan Wangji aggressively walking toward the border of Gusu Lan beside Mo Xuanyu, who’d seemed to have found a new person to shadow, while A-Yuan ran after the two of them, a bag in one hand and a guqin strapped to his back. Jiang Cheng quickly went to A-Yuan, kneeling in front of the child, whose cheeks were red and wet from tears, as he stopped, gasping for breath.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“A-Yuan?” Jiang Cheng whispered. “What is it?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I’m the only one who can contact his spirit!” A-Yuan argued. “I should be able to help!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Jiang Cheng looked over to Lan Wangji, who shook his head, his expression stating that he’d already tried to explain the situation to A-Yuan. He turned back, taking a deep breath as he tried to think of what to say, but just as he opened his mouth to try to reason with the child, he was rudely interrupted.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I think it’s fine.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Jiang Cheng turned to look at Lan XiChen in shock, Lan Wangji following suit.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Zewu Jun--!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“He’s right.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>That was all that Lan XiChen stated before leaving, that serene smile never fading from his face. Lan Wangji glared after him before walking over and grabbing A-Yuan by the hand, leading him quickly after his brother, looking as though he wanted a proper argument. Jiang Cheng stood, feeling a sharp gaze on him, and tried to ignore Mo Xuanyu’s piercing eyes as he walked.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I’d rather hoped the little one would come. I’ve always had a fondness for children. They’re so mistreated in this world, don’t you think? I’ve always wanted one of my own. One to shield and protect.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Mo Xuanyu…”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You have a nephew too, right? Jin Ling?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Jiang Cheng tried to ignore the shiver travelling up his spine at that notion. Mo Xuanyu knew that he had a nephew, because they both were the boy’s uncles. Mo Xuanyu wouldn’t suddenly forget. This was not Mo Xuanyu.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yes!” Jiang Cheng answered through grit teeth. “Of course.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“How sweet he must be,” Mo Xuanyu pondered thoughtfully. “How very sweet.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I suppose.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Mo Xuanyu laughed, wrapping his arm around Jiang Cheng’s shoulders, pulling him close as they walked toward the others, who were quietly bickering ahead, not daring to forget the politeness of their clan. Between his two fingers lingering near Jiang Cheng’s right collarbone, there was a little circular object, one wrapped up, emanating a faint chocolatey smell, one that made his stomach rumble in anticipation for a meal, one he’d abandoned that morning in favor of his shock.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I wonder if the boy would like candy. I certainly did.”</span>
</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0012"><h2>12. Chapter 12</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Sorry that I've been late with updating this. I haven't exactly been feeling the best, so I figured I'd take a small break from writing for a little. I apologize for a schedule that is erratic at best.</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>The flight to the small, insignificant town near the Burial Mounds took all day, and yet Jiang Cheng was not tired at all, but rather heightened by a nervous anticipation, adrenaline flowing through his veins just as the wind pushed against his face, with each squeeze that Mo Xuanyu gave him, holding on for dear life, that demonic cultivator apparently unable to obtain a sword to fly on. Part of him wondered if demonic cultivators were just so inherently lazy that they couldn’t bear to fly for so long, or so rude that they never carried a weapon on their person, or a strange combination of the two that made the whole ordeal between himself and Wei Wuxian so much worse. Why couldn’t Wei Wuxian just save face for once in his life and carry his damned sword with him?</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The group landed just shy of sunset, and Lan XiChen led them all to an inn. Jiang Cheng took note of how fancy it was, definitely somewhere that he wouldn’t be caught dead in if this weren’t such a pressing occasion. It was something that peacock Jin Zixuan or someone from his family would pick, with its gaudy colors and price trying to give off the impression of wealth, but truly harboring the ill-intended thieves and vagabonds who ran the place. He never thought that Lan XiChen would attempt to show off so much, especially when he was from a clan that praised humility. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>He sat down at a table with the others while Lan XiChen went to sort out the arrangements with the owner, trying to sit as far away from Mo Xuanyu as possible, who kept slipping sweets to A-Yuan. Jiang Cheng wanted to smack them out of his hand. They were poisoned, they had to be, but Lan Wangji hadn’t done anything except order a cup of tea and urge A-Yuan to drink it despite the temptations of those little candies wrapped in shiny paper. Every once in a while, Mo Xuanyu’s eyes would meet his and he would look away in shock as a ghastly grin appeared across the man’s pale face, as though he were planning a slaughter. He was completely and utterly disgusting.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Jiang Cheng needed to figure out who Mo Xuanyu was.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Lan XiChen returned with three keys to the room, sitting down beside Jiang Cheng. Mo Xuanyu held out one of the little candies to him and Lan XiChen gracefully took it, but did not eat it, instead tucking it into the folds of his robes. “They only had three rooms.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I’m not sharing with Mo Xuanyu!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Everyone looked at Jiang Cheng at that sudden blurtation, and he shrank away, realizing that his mouth had run away with him again. Lan Wangji nodded in agreement before taking one of the keys from his older brother, easily picking up A-Yuan, and walking upstairs. Mo Xuanyu recomposed himself, although he looked quite vexed, and took one of the keys from Lan XiChen with a smaller smile than usual.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“That is quite all right,” Mo Xuanyu said with a sigh. “I often sleep talk. I wouldn’t want to awaken Sect Leader Jiang. I wouldn’t want to bother Sect Leader Lan either. Why don’t you two sleep in the same room?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Jiang Cheng blanched, unsure of exactly what Mo Xuanyu had been planning, but Lan XiChen nodded, almost seeming like he’d been anticipating such a thing, like he’d wanted it to happen. “Of course, Young Master Mo.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“All right then!” Mo Xuanyu exclaimed, standing up. “Do you mind if I go out to drink? I wouldn’t want to offend your Lan rules or anything, but I saw the most curious little jars of--!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Of course not,” Lan XiChen smiled. “We are not in the Cloud Recesses. Do as you please.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Mo Xuanyu grinned once more and ran away, out into the budding night. Jiang Cheng sighed, leaning against the table in frustration as Lan XiChen ordered noodles and tea for himself and pork for Jiang Cheng, although he didn’t actually ask him whether he wanted it. The two waited in silence, Lan XiChen watching the glowing streets out the window, until he spoke in a softer tone than before.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Can I call you Jiang Cheng?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Jiang Cheng looked at him suspiciously. “Why?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I feel like we shouldn’t be too formal with one another,” Lan XiChen said. “You can call me by my birth name too. It’s Lan Huan.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“That’s a bit too casual for me.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Lan XiChen nodded, thinking for a moment. “Then, I call you Jiang Wanyin and you can call me Lan XiChen instead of Zewu Jun.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Jiang Cheng thought for a moment before nodding. He looked away from Lan XiChen again, trying to silence the cacophony of anxiety in his head. Lan XiChen took a loud breath of air before speaking again, as though he were afraid to offend Jiang Cheng.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Mo Xuanyu reminds me of Wei Wuxian.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Jiang Cheng looked at Lan XiChen in disgust. “Don’t even say that.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Perhaps that is why you do not like him.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Jiang Cheng huffed. “He isn’t like Wei Wuxian and he certainly isn’t Mo Xuanyu. I know for a fact that he’s an imposter. I don’t see why you don’t believe me. You’re supposed to listen to everyone.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I am,” Lan XiChen said. “And until I have reason to believe it, I won’t believe that Mo Xuanyu is any danger to either of us.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Jiang Cheng furrowed his brow. “And if he is?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Then I’ll protect all of us.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He rolled his eyes. “I don’t need you to protect me, Lan XiChen.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Lan XiChen looked slightly annoyed, the one moment that his serenity seemed to fade, before replastering it onto his face. He stayed silent as the food came, waiting until Jiang Cheng had the chance to eat a little bit, before grabbing his chopsticks and picking at it, silently mumbling one coherent sentence under his breath.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I hope I’ll never have to, Jiang Wanyin.”</span>
</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0013"><h2>13. Chapter 13</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>Jiang Cheng had gone to the room after he finished his dinner, flopping down on the bed with a sigh, staring up at the cold, empty ceiling above him. He remembered when he was younger, when he’d wrestle and fight with Wei Wuxian in his own bedroom because his father didn’t have the space to give them each their own room. He’d been so mad that Wei Wuxian had been the one to send his puppies away, and every single day he wondered what had become of them. Did they find a new family? It was unlikely. His mother and father didn’t exactly care about them, so he wouldn’t be surprised if they’d been tossed out into the streets to fend for themselves. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>But Wei Wuxian had been a better companion than those dogs had been. At least Jiang Cheng had someone he could talk to, until their falling out had occurred. When they became teenagers, Wei Wuxian always went out to drink. Jiang Cheng had to wonder where he’d acquired the taste for alcohol at such a young age. Perhaps his own father had introduced Wei Wuxian to it. Jiang Cheng had only drank once--in the Cloud Recesses--and after seeing the beating that he and Lan Wangji had endured, he’d vowed never to drink again for fear that something would happen to him as well. But on those peaceful nights in Yunmeng, Wei Wuxian would sneak out, and Jiang Cheng would be alone in the room, practicing his martial arts or reading novels. His favorite book had been </span>
  <em>
    <span>The Spring and Autumn Annals of the Sixteen Kingdoms</span>
  </em>
  <span>, but it had been long lost in the attack from the Wens, and no matter how hard he tried to find another copy, they all seemed to have vanished from the face of the earth.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He hadn’t read any books in a very long time. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>He used to read. He just didn’t have the time anymore.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Jiang Cheng stood up from the bed and walked over to the window, sitting down on the sill, watching the crowds pass by. Mo Xuanyu was completely gone, and that was fine with him. The more that traitor was out of his sight, the better. He was completely disgusted with the bastard. He had it in his mind to write a letter to Jin Guangyao and tell him what was happening, but it occurred to him that his brother-in-law wouldn’t be able to help from so far away, especially not with Jin Ling to take care of. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Jin Ling. He’d probably like his cousin A-Yuan a lot. Or hate him. Jiang Cheng wasn’t particularly sure. Jin Ling took mostly after Jiang Cheng, which meant that he might be socially inept, while A-Yuan was calm, poised, and composed, not unlike Lan XiChen. The two wouldn’t get along very well. Jiang Cheng didn’t think that he and Lan XiChen got along that well, actually. At most, the other sect leader merely tolerated his presence, putting up with him to find Wei Wuxian for the sake of his lovestruck brother and adorable nephew, A-Yuan.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>There was no way that Lan XiChen would like Jiang Cheng, especially not as a friend.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Speaking of which, it was nearly nine o’clock. It had to be. Didn’t that mean Lan XiChen was supposed to be in bed?</span>
</p><p>
  <span>A flash of white caught Jiang Cheng’s eyes from outside and he opened his window, leaning out to see Lan XiChen running up to see a theatrical show in the middle of the street, poor and rich alike flocking to see the story unfolding before their eyes, a circus that told the innermost secrets of the human mind. He watched as Lan XiChen, with a basket full of fruit and books under one arm, paid the performers in silver and sat on his knees in the front, eager to watch like a child. Jiang Cheng’s hand travelled to the sword at his side as he sighed in exasperation.</span>
</p><p><span>Lan XiChen was much too trusting of others. Didn’t he know that he could be robbed at any moment in such a crowd? How much of a sheltered life could he have lived?  Whatever. It wasn’t even Jiang Cheng’s problem! They weren’t fond of each other! Let him get mugged if he insists on acting like a child!</span><span><br/></span> <span>But somewhere in Jiang Cheng’s chest, there was a burning sensation that told him that he would care if Lan XiChen had gotten hurt. He groaned to himself, making sure that his key was tucked away in his pocket, and ran from the room, down the stairs of the inn, and out into the streets to the crowd. He pushed his way through the crowd and sat down beside Lan XiChen, who looked much too excited to see him.</span></p><p>
  <span>“Jiang Wanyin!” Lan XiChen exclaimed. “I thought you were going to bed.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You truly must have more discretion,” Jiang Cheng advised. “If you so frivolously flaunt your wealth, people may get the wrong idea. It could do more harm than good, especially to you.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Lan XiChen looked quite nearly touched. “Were you worried about me?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“No!” Jiang Cheng shouted, and he turned his head away from Lan XiChen. “Of course I’m not! You can take care of yourself! I just wanted to tell you!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Lan XiChen smiled sweetly and took one of the fruits from his basket, holding it out to Jiang Cheng. He looked back, regarding it carefully in the sect leader’s lily white hands. It was a peach, staring innocently up at him. Jiang Cheng looked at Lan XiChen in confusion, before carefully taking it.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“What is this for?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“To thank you,” Lan XiChen grinned. “For sticking by my side.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Jiang Cheng rolled his eyes as he bit into the peach, rudely speaking through his full mouth. “You’re the one staying up past curfew.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I couldn’t help it,” Lan XiChen laughed. “I found a rare antique bookshop! I found many books that were supposed to go out of print there, ones that I thought were only available at the original Gusu library, before it burned. Uncle will be so pleased that I found them.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Jiang Cheng’s eyes widened as he grabbed the basket from Lan XiChen and dug through it, gasping for breath as he came across the familiar cover. He pulled the book from his youth out of the basket, holding it up to the fire light of the performers, staring at it as though it were a dream.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I… I can’t believe it!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“That’s my favorite book,” Lan XiChen said, taking it gently from Jiang Cheng and opening it in his lap. Jiang Cheng looked over as Lan XiChen opened it to the first page, weathered and comforting. “I thought it was completely lost, but here it was, the whole time.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Jiang Cheng stared down at it longingly. “I wish I had a copy of it too.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You’ve read it?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Before the Wens,” Jiang Cheng sighed, reading through the first page. Then, he reached his free hand forward and turned it, staring at the next. “It’s all just as I remembered…”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Lan XiChen closed the book and held it out to Jiang Cheng. “Do you want it?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Jiang Cheng stared at Lan XiChen in shock, raising his hand back up in surrender as he shook his head. “No! No, of course not! It’s yours! You paid for it! Keep it for your library! I can come and visit if I want to look at it anyway!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You can take it,” Lan XiChen said, setting it on Jiang Cheng’s lap. “If I want to see it, I’ll just have to come to Yunmeng sometime and visit you. Besides, I’ve always wanted to see the lakes there, to see if the lotuses were really everything they were made out to be.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Jiang Cheng smiled softly, a faint blush coloring his cheeks. “Thank you.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Nonsense,” Lan XiChen said, wrapping one arm around Jiang Cheng’s shoulders, pulling him closer. But, instead of fear, like Mo Xuanyu’s embrace had brought him, Jiang Cheng was overwhelmed with warmth. “It’s a gift. You can’t thank someone for a gift. And anyway, I’ll be leeching off of you as well, since I’ll be coming to Yunmeng often.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Jiang Cheng sighed, taking another bite of the peach as he leaned into Lan XiChen’s chest, watching the circus performers flip around on their makeshift stage while the actors professed their love for one another. “I won’t mind so much.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Really?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Jiang Cheng nodded, the thought of Lan XiChen at Lotus Pier with garlands of flowers in his hair somehow entrancing part of himself that he didn’t know existed before. He wanted Lan XiChen to come to Yunmeng, to meet Jin Ling, to read with him everyday. He could almost hear Wei Wuxian’s voice in his ears, chastising him for such impossible fantasies. </span>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>“You really are an idiot, you know?”</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <span>“Lan XiChen?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“What is it?” Lan XiChen asked, sounding almost hopeful. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Jiang Cheng looked up into his shining eyes, and froze completely, unsure of what his next move was to be. He felt utterly terrified, lost in his actions, of what he wanted to do next, or what he was meant to do. He swallowed his longing for another and righted himself, avoiding Lan XiChen’s piercing gaze.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Nothing…”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Jiang Cheng stood up, tucking the book under his arm, clutching the peach so tightly in his hand that it was beginning to spill its juices through his fingers. He shook his head, silently berating himself for being so stupid, and began to walk back through the crowd, and as he did, he felt two pairs of eyes intensely boring into his body.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>One was a gaze of malice.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>And the other… the other was one of unrequited love.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>At least, that was what he felt in his own aching heart.</span>
</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0014"><h2>14. Chapter 14</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>Jiang Cheng didn’t quite want to go back to the room. He didn’t want to see Lan XiChen there at all, didn’t want to hear his judgement about whatever had spooked him, that thing in the back of his mind nagging at him, somehow making him feel awful about himself, like he was using the Lans to get what he wanted. Instead, he managed to sneak himself into a dark corner of the dining room below the inn’s guest rooms, slowly eating the peach that he was given as he leafed through the book.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He couldn’t believe that Lan XiChen had found it… that Lan XiChen had given it to him.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Sect Leader Jiang?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Jiang Cheng looked up to see A-Yuan sitting across from him, staring curiously down at the book. An involuntary smile crossed Jiang Cheng’s face, one that he could hardly contain, and he was instantly reminded of a curious Wei Wuxian who would sneak out from the rooms to find Jiang Cheng after he’d been yelled at by Madam Yu. He could almost remember the scent of Jiang Yanli’s soup, carried by his beautiful sister as she ran after them to provide solace and comfort. He reached over the table to mess up A-Yuan’s hair, but remembered that he’d be touching his forehead ribbon, and quickly pulled away.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Aren’t you supposed to be in bed?” Jiang Cheng asked.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“There’s so much going on,” A-Yuan pouted. “I couldn’t sleep at all.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Ah, I see,” Jiang Cheng sighed, taking another bite of his peach. He looked down at A-Yuan’s small face as he chewed, trying to think of how someone so full of life could come from the Lan sect. Well… not the Lan sect. He was a Wen by blood, wasn’t he? Either way, such a kind personality was such a pleasant surprise. “Do you want anything to eat?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>A-Yuan looked at Jiang Cheng curiously. “What can I have?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He thought for a moment. “Have you ever had lotus pork rib soup?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“No…”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Before Jiang Cheng could even comprehend it himself, he’d ordered two bowls and readily overpaid the waiter for his efforts, before turning back to A-Yuan. “It was the Yiling Patriarch’s favorite meal. I don’t expect much from here, but my sister used to make the best meals when we were children.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>A-Yuan’s eyes went wide. “Did you really grow up with the Yiling Patriarch?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“He was my older brother.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>A-Yuan sighed, looking down at the table, reaching up and drawing circles on the wood with his fingers, and his voice grew quiet. “Father… uh, Hanguang Jun… told me that the Yiling Patriarch was also my father. Could you… perhaps… tell me about him?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Jiang Cheng felt tears well in his eyes as he stood up, slowly, and walked over to a bin, throwing the remnants of the peach away. He tried to compose himself, wiping his hands against his robes as he walked back, and he sat back down, staring the intelligent child in the eyes. And, much to his excitement, the child did not waver or flinch or blink. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Wei Wuxian was the most troublesome boy that I ever know. He was loud, rude, and callous as well as a drunk, although he was handy when he needed to be. He liked to break rules. I think he met your father when he tried to sneak liquor into the Cloud Recesses. But when he wanted to, he was quite gallant. He quite liked to save pretty girls from danger and was an expert at combat and at fighting monsters. I like to think that it’s because he annoyed them to death.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>A-Yuan giggled. “I didn’t know that much.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Nobody does,” Jiang Cheng whispered. “They just see the man corrupted by power.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>A-Yuan looked like he wanted to ask more, but just at that moment, the waiter brought back the two bowls of soup before quickly scampering to take care of the other patrons. A-Yuan quickly grabbed the spoon beside him, dipped it into the soup, and shoved it into his mouth. He winced at the heat, but that didn’t deter him. Instead, he kept eating, as Jiang Cheng looked down at him with a strange fondness, slowly eating the nostalgic dish.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>In another world, this child would have truly been his nephew. He would’ve been just like Jin Ling. Well, maybe not exactly like him… this brat had manners at least. But it was quite nice. He never wanted children of his own. He was afraid that he’d hurt them, like his parents did to him, and his sister, and Wei Wuxian.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>However, in another world… if he could find a maiden willing to love him… it wouldn’t be too bad to have a child. He’d want a little girl. Perhaps he’d name her after his sister. But he had no one.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Nobody would ever want to marry someone like him.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Jiang Cheng looked back up at A-Yuan with a smile. “I hope we find him.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>A-Yuan nodded, looking solemnly into the soup bowl. “I do too. I want to meet him.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I… I think we all do.”</span>
</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0015"><h2>15. Chapter 15</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Sorry that I haven't been updating lately. I live in America, and everything's a bit of a mess here. I'm trying to stick to a schedule, but it's a bit difficult to concentrate, so I apologize if I deviate from it. Thank you so much for reading this!!!</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>Even after A-Yuan finished his meal and left, Jiang Cheng stayed in his seat, staring down at the empty bowl before him. He wished that he could have one that would be full for all eternity to remind him of his older sister. No, no. If he was wishing for things, he would wish that they’d all still be alive. His sister, Wei Wuxian… hell, even some of the Wens didn’t seem so bad now that he looked back on it. If some of them were like A-Yuan… well, if that was the case, then he wondered why they’d all died. He wondered what would’ve happened if they hadn’t, if just the bad ones had died and the good ones had lived. Wei Wuxian wouldn’t have had to take them to the Burial Mounds, and his sister wouldn’t have had to die. Jin Ling would’ve had his mother and uncle. Jiang Cheng would’ve had his brother and sister.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Reminiscing much?” Jiang Cheng jolted up with a gasp when he saw Mo Xuanyu sitting across from him with a grin, tapping against the table with his long fingernails. Jiang Cheng pressed himself against the wall behind him, tightening his fist around Zidian as Mo Xuanyu laughed, shaking his head. “Peace, please. I mean you no harm.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You’re not Mo Xuanyu, are you?” Jiang Cheng hissed. “You’re someone else!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Perhaps…” the person that was not Mo Xuanyu said, leaning his head against his hand, his elbow resting against the table. “Who’s to say? Maybe you’re just going insane. I heard Wei Wuxian’s mind went before he did. It could be a familial thing.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I’m not biologically related to him. Now get out!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Mo Xuanyu pursed his lips in a pout. “I’m not here to hurt you, or your handsome friend. I’m just helping. Consider me a friend. I’m the healer to your army, see? I want the Yiling Patriarch’s soul safe, just like anyone else.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Jiang Cheng furrowed his brow. “Why?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I suppose it’s because I’m bored. I want to play.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He huffed in exasperation. “Play somewhere else. We’re being serious right now.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Mo Xuanyu regarded Jiang Cheng seriously, his devious eyes boring into his soul. Jiang Cheng shifted nervously, unsure of what to do, as Mo Xuanyu let out a little laugh, one that sounded more nefarious than anything he’d heard before in his life. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I think you’ve been alone too long,” Mo Xuanyu muttered, pulling a piece of candy from his robes. He threw it playfully at Jiang Cheng, who managed to catch the small orb before it hit his right eye. “You’ve forgotten how to play games. That’s it, isn’t it? You’ve been too stiff for too long. You need to relax.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I most certainly do not!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Mo Xuanyu leaned forward in excitement. “We can start again, you know! We can start with falling in love! Have you ever fallen in love, Master Jiang? That’s the most basic human game you can ever play!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Jiang Cheng rolled his eyes. “Never.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“What?” Mo Xuanyu laughed. “Even Second Young Master Lan has fallen in love!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“How do you know about that?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“It was quite obvious,” Mo Xuanyu sighed as his riotous fit died down. “But I don’t think either of you see it as a game. You see it as a… what would it be? I’ve only met a few people in my lifetime who don’t think it’s a game, and at least half of them wound up alone and cold. I think you see it as something personal instead of a prize. That’s why you two have trouble expressing it.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Jiang Cheng stood and started storming back to the room. “I don’t have to listen to you!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“It’s because of your parents, I think! All of your parents were so mean to one another! It makes sense! They played the game and you didn’t like it! Aren’t I right, Sect Leader Jiang? Aren’t I?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Jiang Cheng resisted the urge to turn around and whip the little bastard with Zidian, instead focusing on going back up to his room. That person, that imposter! He would see him executed when their journey was through, he was sure of it! </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Love?</span>
</p><p>
  <span>What a stupid affair. He was never, nor would he ever be, in love. </span>
</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0016"><h2>16. Chapter 16</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>It was extremely late when Lan XiChan finally came into the room again. Jiang Cheng was somehow surprised that he’d even come back at all. If he’d been raised in such a conservative environment as the Lan Sect… well… he’d probably never sleep again. He rolled over on his bed and looked over at the man in white entering the room, who smiled serenely at him before holding up the book. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You left this at the table.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Right. Jiang Cheng had forgotten. He furrowed his brow angrily. “Mo Xuanyu was saying some things that made me uncomfortable. I had to leave quickly before I killed him. I must’ve forgotten.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>A flash of something crossed Lan XiChen’s eyes for an instant, so quickly that Jiang Cheng could hardly see what it was. It was an emotion, he was sure. Something resembling a quiet fury, although Jiang Cheng couldn’t be sure. It wasn’t like he was good at reading people. He slowly sat up beneath the covers, as though he could attempt to discern what had already vanished, and the other sect leader crossed over and sat on the other bed, setting the book on top of the table between them. Lan XiChen quietly and solemnly nodded, avoiding Jiang Cheng’s gaze.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I’ll try to talk to him,” Lan XiChen muttered. “A-Yao was right…”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Jin Guangyao?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Lan XiChen looked up in surprise, almost shocked that he’d uttered those words aloud. He forced a laugh, although Jiang Cheng didn’t buy it, and waved it off. “Oh, no! It’s all right! Sect Leader Jin calls me a pushover sometimes, although we’re mostly just teasing! We used to joke around a lot with former Sect Leader Nie too, actually.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Somehow Jiang Cheng couldn’t imagine Nie Mingjue or Jin Guangyao having any senses of humor outside of their own faraway personalities. He forced himself to smile softly. “That sounds like myself and Nie Huaisang and… and Wei Wuxian. They liked to talk about my preferences for my future partner and tease me about it, and I’d call my brother a drunk and Nie Huaisang a good-for-nothing. It was kind of fun… until, of course, there was nothing more to say to one another. You know, after we all grew up.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Preferences?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Jiang Cheng let out a snort. “That’s what you’re focused on?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You didn’t seem like the sort of person to think about those things.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Do you think that I don’t have standards?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Lan XiChen blushed a deep red and urgently shook his head. “Of course not. I just meant that you don’t seem like the sort of person to… you know… have crushes on people or… or think about relationships or marriage. You’re very serious.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Oh?” Jiang Cheng asked with a grin. “Well, as it so happens, I still remember all of my criteria for a future partner perfectly.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Lan XiChen raised his eyebrow supiciously. “Tell me then!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“My future partner must be naturally obedient, beautiful, and graceful, thrifty and hardworking, come from a respectable family, their cultivation level shall not be too high, their voice shall not be too loud, they must not have too strong of a personality, and they shall not be too talkative!” Jiang Cheng declared. He thought for a moment, before adding, “And they must treat Jin Ling well. That’s it.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Lan XiChen pressed his hand to his temple exhaustedly. “Oh, that’s all then?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“It’s not much!” Jiang Cheng exclaimed. “What about you?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Me?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Jiang Cheng rolled his eyes. “You’re extremely dense, aren’t you? You must have some requirements for a young lady you plan to court in the future. You’re a sect leader, after all. It’s expected of you to fall in love with the right person and have children.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I was thinking A-Yuan could take over the sect instead of my children, actually.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Well, irregardless--!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Regardless.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Jiang Cheng shot Lan XiChen a glare of annoyance. Lan XiChen stifled a giggle, but the smile still spread across his face, and he lightly stomped his feet on the floor in delight. Sometimes Jiang Cheng wondered if everyone he knew were just children in disguise, or if they’d just never grown out of their childhood phases. He even wondered what he was doing there, acting like a teenage girl and listing off all of the things he wanted in a spouse. He hadn’t done that since he was in the Cloud Recesses as a teenager.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Regardless,” Jiang Cheng huffed. “You must like someone.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Lan XiChen thought for a moment. “The only requirement that I demand from my partner is that they love me.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“That’s it?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He nodded. “That’s it.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“How stupid!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Jiang Cheng flopped back onto the bed and closed his eyes as he snuggled himself beneath the sheets, creating his own little burrow against the mat. He heard Lan XiChen walk around, putting things away and changing his clothes, before settling into the other bed. But, no matter how hard he tried, he couldn’t go to sleep. He felt like there was something actively blocking it from it, something that forced his heart to beat erratically and his breath to quicken with every pccasioanl creak of Lan XiChen’s bed with the shifting of weight. He hadn’t been able to sleep in the same room as anyone since the Sunshot Campaign. Even sleeping in the same room as Jin Ling gave him anxiety, every little sound making him feel like someone was going to come for him and murder him. But this was somehow different. He didn’t feel much fear at all, but instead, excitement. Perhaps he was coming down with something…</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Jiang Wanyin?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Jiang Cheng didn’t think that Lan XiChen was still awake. “Mm?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Even my younger brother fell in love.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yeah, with Wei Wuxain. What bad taste he has. I feel almost sorry for you.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Jiang Wanyin. I think it’s proof that everyone has someone out there for them. If you ever feel alone, you should just open your eyes and try to find that person. I think they’ll be right in front of you.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Jiang Cheng felt like he’d been struck by an arrow with that thought. He could feel the imaginary injury that it had caused, pushing through his chest and piercing his heart. He didn’t know why those words had hurt so much, as though there were something before him that was nearly impossible to realize. He pulled the blanket sensitively over his head, enclosing himself in darkness, and squeezed his eyes shut.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Goodnight, Lan XiChen.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>There was silence for the longest moment. It was pressing around him in the air, an awful feeling of guilt and blindness that was going to crush him at any moment. It was so hard to breathe. Finally, he was released into sleep by just one word from the other man in the room.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Goodnight.”</span>
</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>I'm sorry that I haven't been sticking to much of a schedule. Thank you so much for reading this anyway! I'll try to update more frequently.</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0017"><h2>17. Chapter 17</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Apologies for being so late with this story. There's been a lot going on and it's extremely overwhelming to even think about writing. I haven't forgot about this story, I promise. I'm really grateful that you've read this far. I promise, as soon as this mess is over, or even if I have some breathing room, I will come up with a more concise schedule. </p><p>I've also got a new instagram account for my writing, if anyone is interested: @l.h.tremaiyne. It's under the pen name that I've chosen to write some of my books under, although I haven't published anything yet (I'm working on a big novel and a few short stories for magazines, though). It's just for writing advice and some things about MDZS, so if you're interested, you can check it out. </p><p>Thank you so much for reading this story.</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>They awoke bright and early the next day to get ahead on their travels, A-Yuan coming to everyone’s rooms and shouting that Lan Wangji had decided that it was time for all of them to go. Jiang Cheng felt completely miserable from the lack of sleep, his eyes bleary and red when he opened them to see A-Yuan jumping on top of Lan XiChen and screaming about how it was time to go. It didn’t help his mood, to see how Lan XiChen could be so handsomely bright and happy so early in the morning. For a man who had just broken a lifelong curfew, he seemed relatively unaffected, and for some reason, that made Jiang Cheng incredulous, his heart racing as he thought about the scorn that he had for somebody so perfect. It wasn’t fair. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>He grumpily rolled out of bed with a sigh and packed up everything he had, including safely tucking away the book that Lan XiChen had given him, and went to change into new purple robes for the journey. When he walked into the hallway, he immediately bumped into Mo Xuanyu, who fell to the ground with a dramatic thud. Jiang Cheng stared at him for a second, unable to register what had happened, before helping him up. Mo Xuanyu looked almost like he was going to murder Jiang Cheng, but soon remembered himself, and grinned again in a way that seemed almost psychopathic.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Good morning, Master Jiang,” Mo Xuanyu greeted him with a respectful bow, which Jiang Cheng returned, although reluctantly. “Did little A-Yuan wake you too?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yes,” Jiang Cheng said, crossing his arms. “Why?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“No reason,” Mo Xuanyu laughed, waving his arm as though he were trying to bat the thought away. “He’s just an adorable little boy, though. He’s much calmer than I was, of course, but children often become excited when they’re given candy, and neither of us are any exception in that regard.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Jiang Cheng shook his head. “I didn’t have much of a sweet tooth as a child.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Mo Xuanyu shrugged nonchalantly, although his eyes flared with rage. “Pity.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Jiang Cheng turned on his heel and walked away before Mo Xuanyu did something dangerous. He still didn’t like how that man was acting--he knew that he was someone else, he just knew--but he didn’t want to worry Lan XiChen or Lan Wangji any more. It was very clear that neither of them believed him, so he wouldn’t bring it up again, although he wouldn’t hesitate to tell them something along the lines of ‘I told you so’ if any of them got hurt as a consequence of allowing such a maniac on this mission. But it was fine. It was just fine. He’d be calm and work with him as long as he didn’t push Jiang Cheng anymore. Otherwise, he had a feeling that Zidian would make an appearance and stall them from their travels for a couple of days, at the very least. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Perhaps if he hurt Mo Xuanyu enough, they wouldn’t have to bring him…</span>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>“Such a fiery temper!” </span>
  </em>
  <span>he could hear Wei Wuxian’s voice in his head. </span>
  <em>
    <span>“You’ll never get any girls if you go around acting like that!”</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <span>“Shut up.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Jiang Cheng found an unoccupied room and changed into his new clothes, then went back and collected his things. Everyone else was already waiting outside, most of them looking around at the town around them, while Lan Wangji stared off at the mountains with a worried look on his face. Jiang Cheng felt perfectly ratty compared to people with such pristine appearances (and Mo Xuanyu, who was the epitome of not caring about one’s looks), especially with Lan XiChen staring at him in such an odd way, one that made him feel like he was a foreigner instead of someone who’d known the sect leader since he was a teenager. When Jiang Cheng arrived, Lan XiChen clapped to get everyone’s attention, and they circled around one another to block out everyone else who might hear them on accident or, worse, on purpose.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“After this point, there aren’t many towns,” Lan XiChen informed them. “I’ve got enough rations for us to survive for a while, but we might also have to live off the land. It’ll take us a while to find the soul, but thankfully, with A-Yuan’s guidance, it shouldn’t take us too long.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I bought more candy, so we shouldn’t run out of food!” Mo Xuanyu exclaimed with a grin, before grimacing at Jiang Cheng. “Of course, some people might starve anyway. In which case, it’s all for myself and A-Yuan!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Candy rots your teeth, A-Yuan,” Lan Wangji said quietly. “Don’t eat too much.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I’m not one for sweets either,” Lan XiChen said with an apologetic smile. “Apologies.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Mo Xuanyu bowed respectfully. “Of course.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Anyway, we should probably go by foot so that we can get a better scope of the land,” Jiang Cheng said, feeling quite sure that this conversation wouldn’t get back to its original course without some prodding. “We’re near the Burial Mounds, right? We should try to make it there first before looking anywhere else. I think that, if we make haste, we can get there by sunset.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“How practical!” Lan XiChen said admiringly. “Are there any objections?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Jiang Cheng looked around the group to see if there were any. Mo Xuanyu looked like he wanted to say that it was unfair that they’d have to move that quickly, but at the same time, Lan Wangji looked like he wanted to go at a much faster pace, like he wanted to find that fragment of Wei Wuxian’s soul by nightfall instead of go to the place where he lived. Neither of them spoke. Instead, Lan Wangji took A-Yuan’s hand in his own and started off on the journey. Lan XiChen and Jiang Cheng followed quickly, side-by-side, while Mo Xuanyu trailed behind them at a much slower pace, more focused on consuming his sweets than on finding the Yiling Patriarch.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Lan XiChen smiled at Jiang Cheng, and he immediately felt as though he’d ingested Mo Xuanyu’s candy, feeling as though he were going to vomit from the sugariness of the gesture. “I didn’t think you’d be so practical, Jiang Wanyin.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“What?” Jiang Cheng asked in confusion. “I’m always practical.”</span>
</p><p><span>He snorted, which seemed so unpious that it took Jiang Cheng back. He’d never known anyone from the Lan sect to snort! Perhaps roll their eyes or bat somebody away politely, but snort? Never! Lan XiChen seemed to notice what he’d done and recomposed himself, although Jiang Cheng couldn’t help but look at him differently for such an occurrence. </span><span><br/></span> <span>“You let your emotions overcome you,” Lan XiChen said. “That’s not practical.”</span></p><p>
  <span>“Just because I’m not a Lan doesn’t mean I can’t be pragmatic,” Jiang Cheng said defensively. “Besides, I was part of the Sunshot Campaign as much as you. I’m useful in battle, and even more useful in strategy. I’m just as practical as you.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You’re intelligent, not practical?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>This time, it was Jiang Cheng’s turn to snort. “What difference is there?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“A world of difference.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Jiang Cheng huffed, crossing his arms. “Well, you’re not practical either.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I know that.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>How infuriating this Lan was! Jiang Cheng had half a mind to put him in his place, but then again, he didn’t want to start a war between the sects, with the Yunmeng Jiang sect only having rebuilt a few years ago. Instead, he looked away, feeling his face burning a bright fiery red.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Lan Wangji looked back at them, vaguely interested. “It’s a behavior derived from the Jiang sect.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“What?” Jiang Cheng exclaimed as Lan Wangji turned to face forward again after having nearly tripped over a few stones laid in the path before them. “What does that mean?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Lan XiChen stifled a small laugh. “I think he means that Wei Wuxian acted like you.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Wei Wuxian and I are worlds apart, much like the difference between intelligence and practicality!” Jiang Cheng shouted painedly. “I’d thank you not to make that comparison again, or I’ll cut off your right arms!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“One of my friends lives near the Jiang sect,” A-Yuan murmured nonchalantly, as though he had only been half-paying attention. “Ouyang Zizhen acts a lot like Sect Leader Jiang, only he’s a bit nicer.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Jiang Cheng pressed his hands over his ears to keep from hearing the barrage of well-meaning insults that brought him, despite the laughter emanating from Lan XiChen’s mouth. He didn’t want to hear that he was anything like Wei Wuxian or, even, like the rest of his family. He wasn’t mean like his mother and he wasn’t a pushover like his father, and he certainly wasn’t anything like Wei Wuxain or his sister. He was himself. He didn’t want to be like any of them. They died because their personalities were set in stone. They died because they were too ferocious, or too kind, or too quick to jump into action.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Jiang Cheng never wanted to be anything like them.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He was too afraid of death to be anything like them.</span>
</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0018"><h2>18. Chapter 18</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>Mo Xuanyu was talking to Lan Wangji like they were friends.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Had they known each other personally before they’d embarked on this journey?</span>
</p><p>
  <span>After they’d stopped to eat some of the food that Lan XiChen had brought and drink water running through a stream crossing through the Burial Mounds, Mo Xuanyu had approached Lan Wangji with a few jokes and, although Lan Wangji looked away with a huff and went along his own business, he didn’t quite shoo Mo Xuanyu away. Instead, there was a mere utterance of ‘shameless’ before they went on their journey again. Even Lan XiChen seemed a little taken aback by the sudden one-sided conversation, staring at the two of them in shock as they walked again. Mo Xuanyu even carried A-Yuan, who was growing tired with the extensive travel and had fallen asleep in the stranger’s arms, and managed to bear the weight of the child’s guqin with precise attention and care. Jiang Cheng kept an eye on the three of them, sliding his finger along Zidian threateningly, although he had no cause to. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>A-Yuan was only a few years older than Jin Ling. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>If Mo Xuanyu hurt A-Yuan, he would hurt Mo Xuanyu in turn.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“It’s quite strange, isn’t it?” Lan XiChen finally murmured as sunset quickly approached, turning the sky a brilliant concoction of blue, scarlet, and violet. “The only person that Lan Wangji has warmed up to this quickly was Wei Wuxian.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I remember when Lan Wangji first met Wei Wuxian,” Jiang Cheng huffed. “They didn’t get along at all. I hardly know why either of them are attracted to each other, whether they know it or not.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Lan XiChen sighed and ran his fingers through his hair, before his face froze up in an expression of fear and his feet stopped dead in their tracks. Jiang Cheng stared at him in confusion as the other sect leader spun around in shock, staring back into the dark forest. He reached his hand out and grabbed Lan XiChen by his shaking arm to steady him, and Lan XiChen leaned close to him.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Don’t make a fuss of it,” Lan XiChen uttered quietly. “But I think that we’re being followed.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Followed?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Shh. We can branch off from the others and look when we get to the Burial Mounds.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Jiang Cheng blinked in confusion. “What? But--?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I don’t want to worry A-Yuan. Just be patient. I don’t think it’ll attack us.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Jiang Cheng let go of Lan XiChen stared out into the woods, unsure of what he had seen, but he knew that it must’ve been something sudden or frightening to shake the prestigious leader of the Lan sect so badly. The blood was practically draining from his face, but he managed to compose himself, grabbed Jiang Cheng, and hurry along to match their pace with the others, walking along with them rather than behind them. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Mo Xuanyu was rambling on. “Either way, Hanguang-Jun, I think that the Yiling Patriarch might’ve been onto something. I’ve been attempting to replicate some of his work, but I could never do anything like that with such astuteness or dexterity, and--”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“His work?” Jiang Cheng snapped. “Call it what it is. Demonic cultivation.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Where did you come from?” Mo Xuanyu snapped angrily.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Just behind you,” Jiang Cheng said seriously. “As your elder and brother-in-law, I’d like to warn you not to dabble in the arts that the Yiling Patriarch bowed to. It’s the entire reason we’re in this mess in the first place.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Mo Xuanyu scoffed. “It’s also the entire reason that the Sunshot Campaign succeeded.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“What would you know about it? You weren’t there.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Peace, please!” Lan XiChen said, seeming to regain enough of himself to play the mediator in their arguments, despite the fact that he looked much too tired to do so. “Please try not to aggravate each other too much.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Mo Xuanyu hissed in the manner of a cat. “Well, I--”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Quiet!” Lan Wangji commanded, flaring his arm out in front of them to keep them from moving ahead again. Everyone stopped and stared up at the sight before them, heels digging into the earth as they beheld the Burial Mounds.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Everything was so grey and desolate there, and although they hadn’t ventured into it, it exuded an air of decay that was so strong that Jiang Cheng could see the the slaughter at Lotus Pier right before his eyes again, as though it were happening all over again. But there was nobody there. There were no bodies to decay and no people running away from their tormentors. It was dead quiet, so silent that there was almost a ringing in his ears. All of the plants were wilted and colorless there, and his eyes were instantly drawn to a murky pond of lotuses, ones that had died long before. In the light of the fading sun, it looked almost dusty, even more of a ghost town than it had once been before. He wanted to scream when he saw that wretched sight… he didn’t know how Wei Wuxian could live in such desolation. If he had to deal with such an awful place every day, then even he might’ve fallen into the dark arts.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“How horrible!” Lan XiChen exclaimed, a hand clasping over his mouth in terror.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>A-Yuan pushed away from Mo Xuanyu’s embrace, dropping to the ground, and ran into the Burial Mounds, as though he’d been possessed, heading straight for one of the caves. Lan Wangji immediately chased him down there, running faster than Jiang Cheng had ever seen him move, brown mud clinging to his pristine white robes as they dragged along the ground, and Mo Xuanyu followed, although he looked more curious as to what might happen instead of concerned for A-Yuan. Jiang Cheng went to follow them, but Lan XiChen grabbed him by the arm.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Let’s try to find whatever’s following us before they return.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Jiang Cheng nodded and turned back to look at the woods. And, together, the two cultivators ventured off into the darkness, their fingers just barely touching to remind themselves that they were not alone in the midst of such a desolation. </span>
</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0019"><h2>19. Chapter 19</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>“What did you see?” Jiang Cheng whispered after a while of silence. They’d been walking for what felt like an eternity, taking great pains not to stray too far from the Burial Mounds, just in case Lan Wangji, A-Yuan, or Mo Xuanyu called for them, perhaps from fear that whatever they were hunting may have slipped past them or, worse, that there might be lots of them.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I don’t know,” Lan XiChen murmured, looking around with his hand on the hilt of the sword at his waist. Jiang Cheng had caught glimpses of the blade during battle, a sleek silver affair that glowed when it wasn’t covered, and it had made him look like a righteous warrior straight out of a legend told to disciples who wanted to achieve honor and glory. In the midst of such a dark place, it would’ve acted as a beacon and warned everyone off. “I thought I saw someone in dark robes running past us, but it disappeared when I tried to get a better look.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Jiang Cheng crossed his arms in front of his chest and slowly meandered over to one of the trees, leaning against it as Lan XiChen stopped beside him, looking around defensively. He didn’t want to say it, but he was pretty sure that Lan XiChen hadn’t actually seen anything at all or, if he had, it was probably something that wasn’t following them anymore. They’d been walking for what felt like hours and there was nothing out there. He was more worried about Mo Xuanyu being so friendly with Lan Wangji and A-Yuan than about whatever was lurking about outside. That seemed like something that he needed to attend to much more urgently, especially since the danger that Mo Xuanyu posed was something that he knew existed, rather than a monster that could be imaginary.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Maybe we should go back,” Jiang Cheng muttered. “We could see if A-Yuan--!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Fairy? Where are you”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Jiang Cheng froze when he heard Jin Ling’s voice reverberate through the air, the trees rustling just slightly with the wind that it had been carried over on. It was followed by a dog’s bark further out into the darkness. He looked over at Lan XiChen, trying to convince himself that it was all in his head, but Lan XiChen was already looking at him with wide eyes.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Was that your nephew?” Lan XiChen asked.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I left him with Jin Guangyao. He shouldn’t be here.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“A-Ling!” he heard a familiar voice call. “Don’t go too far!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Lan XiChen raised his eyebrows in confusion, before calling out into the void. “Is that you, Nie Huaisang?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>There was a pause, one in which silence resounded throughout the forest. Lan XiChen pulled his sword from its sheath, illuminating the deep midnight landscape before them. There was the silhouette before them of a child, a dog, and a man standing before him, and when they saw one another, the child ran forth after the others and tackled Jiang Cheng in a hug. Jiang Cheng stared down at Jin Ling in shock, before pushing him away to ensure that he was truly his nephew.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Jin Ling!” Jiang Cheng shouted, much louder than he intended to. He knelt down in front of the boy clad in gold, fussing about him in confusion. “Why the hell are you here, stupid boy? Don’t you know that you can get hurt! I ought to break your arm and--!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Please, Jiang Wanyin,” Lan XiChen said calmly. “This may all be a misunderstanding.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I’m afraid that it’s my fault,” Nie Huaisang said as he walked closer to them, flicking the fan open nervously to hide his face from them. Jiang Cheng could still see his conniving eyes flicking at them from behind his useless shield, and when Nie Huaisang realized that there was an opening in his defense, he began flicking the fan back and forth to throw him off. “Sect Leader Jin had to leave on serious business, just as I was arriving, so I decided to take Jin Ling out for the day. It’s quite good for children, you know, to get some outside air instead of being cooped up in a palace, and--”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“How did you get here?” Jiang Cheng hissed.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“They sell wonderful fans in the town near the mountain,” Nie Huaisang murmured as a faint red blush colored his skin. “And, besides, I’ve always wanted to visit my little nephew. After all, my brother and Jin Guangyao were sworn brothers, which technically makes me an uncle too.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Jiang Cheng stood up and pressed his hands to his hips. Lan XiChen looped his arm through Jiang Cheng’s in an attempt to appease him, but he hardly noticed at all. “You’ve never taken interest in him before. Why now?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“He meant to have me back by night!” Jin Ling exclaimed, trying to appease his uncle. “But Fairy ran off and I got separated from Nie Huaisang trying to chase after her. But now it’s all right! We’ve got Fairy and we can go!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You’d better!” Jiang Cheng snapped. “Do you know where we are? The Burial Mounds!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Jin Ling gasped in horror, pressing his hands over his mouth. He’d been told enough stories about the Burial Mounds by servants and nursemaids to learn to be afraid of it. He ran back to Fairy, wrapping his arms around her in fear, and started to cry into her fur, as though that would do anything. Nie Huaisang glanced back down at him before looking back up at Jiang Cheng with false sincerity.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I do apologize,” Nie Huaisang said. “If I’d have known--!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“We all know!” Jiang Cheng snapped. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Lan XiChen tilted his head in confusion. “I thought you knew too. You sent Mo Xuanyu as a representative to help us with the demonic entity on Du Yi Mountain. We came here in order to inspect the area and try to find the source.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Nie Huaisang paused for too long of a moment before nodding with a gasp. “Oh, oh yes! Right! Du Yi Mountain! I remember, of course. I didn’t think it would be this close. How silly of me!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Nie Huaisang…” Jiang Cheng growled.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I’ll take Jin Ling back now.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Nie Huaisang nervously stepped back, snapping his fan shut. His face was pale, like he was about to faint, and he ran back over to Jin Ling. He picked up Jin Ling and Fairy followed them obediently, both of them turning back to wish Jiang Cheng and Lan XiChen well on their travels before leaving. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>That was when Jin Ling said something that made Jiang Cheng’s blood freeze over.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Is Uncle Mo here with Uncle Jiang? I thought he was still in town!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Nie Huaisang’s voice was quiet, and he glanced back at Jiang Cheng and Lan XiChen in horror, before looking back at Jin Ling. From that one glance, he told Jiang Cheng everything he needed to know. Even though he said something else, his eyes said, </span>
  <em>
    <span>‘He is still in the town. Watch out.’</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <span>“No, no, I think that he is. Let’s go meet him before he thinks we got lost.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Jiang Cheng and Lan XiChen looked at each other in terror, waiting until the noise from the two of them had faded into the distance before stepping apart. Lan XiChen slid his sword back into his sheath as Jiang Cheng lightly pushed him back in shock.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I told you!” Jiang Cheng whispered. “That’s not Mo Xuanyu back there! I told you!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I… I see…” Lan XiChen looked like he didn’t want to believe it, especially not now. Jiang Cheng didn’t blame him, but there wasn’t the time to think about it for a long time when someone dangerous could be with their A-Yuan and Lan Wangji. He turned to run back to the Burial Mounds, but Lan XiChen grabbed him by the arm, pulling him back. “Wait.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Get off of me!” Jiang Cheng shouted, yanking his arm away. “This is dangerous! Don’t you get it!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Lan XiChen’s entire body seemed to grow smaller, recoiling back from Jiang Cheng’s yelling, and he immediately felt bad about it. He rushed forward, hugging Lan XiChen close to him in an attempt to calm him down, but his mind still rushed with the horrible fear that something bad could happen to Lan XiChen’s family. Lan XiChen wrapped his arms around Jiang Cheng’s waist, leaning his head into the crook between his neck and his shoulder.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“We don’t know if he’s dangerous or not,” Lan XiChen murmured into Jiang Cheng’s ear. “It’s better to just watch him. If he’s more powerful than we are, then he can hurt or kill us before getting what he wants. Besides, he told us that a lot of people died on Du Yi Mountain. We don’t know if that’s true or not.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Jiang Cheng looked up at where Nie Huaisang and Jin Ling had been just a moment ago and pulled away from Lan XiChen. “But Nie Huaisang lied to us about his whereabouts and about Du Yi Mountain. He didn’t even lie well, letting us hear that! Maybe he meant to let us hear Jin Ling say that! He knows it’s an imposter! There probably wasn’t even a massacre there.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“We’ll keep an eye on it.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“But--!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Lan XiChen looked up at Jiang Cheng pleadingly. “I don’t want you to get hurt.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Jiang Cheng stared at him in shock. “What?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I mean, I don’t want anyone to get hurt,” Lan XiChen interrupted, talking much faster than Jiang Cheng could even begin to process the words. “Not even whoever is pretending to be Mo Xuanyu. Please… let’s just… let’s not…”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Jiang Cheng promised to keep what they knew a secret, just to save Lan XiChen from too much anxiety, but he kept his fingers crossed behind his back in case he was forced to break that promise. He didn’t like this. He didn’t like any of this, and worse, he didn’t know what to do because he didn’t know what was going on at all. He liked Lan XiChen too much to make him upset. Well, he didn’t know if ‘like’ was too strong or too weak of a term. It sounded better to say that he revered the other sect leader and didn’t want to make him worried or upset.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Nie Huaisang was going to get an earful when Jiang Cheng returned for putting himself in such danger, not to mention acting so strangely. But he wouldn’t kill Nie Huaisang for it. At least he tried to warn them about the false person that was lurking about. Jiang Cheng would just have to save his energy, because if the false Mo Xuanyu hurt anyone there, he wouldn’t hesitate to kill him.</span>
</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Someday, it'll all make sense. <br/>I hope.</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0020"><h2>20. Chapter 20</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>So, I just got a puppy... I've been losing a lot of sleep with him around, but I love him anyway.<br/>School is also starting soon, and both of these things will make it very hard for me to update. Please bear with me. If there's anything that you want to see in this fanfiction or any suggestions, please let me know in the comments, and I'll see if I can implement them! ;)</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>After Jiang Cheng left Lan XiChen in one of the abandoned rooms in the Burial Mounds to get some rest, he went to find Lan Wangji and warn him of what he’d seen and heard from Nie Huaisang. He couldn’t help but look around anxiously for fear that Mo Xuanyu would come by and threaten him, or worse, but there was nobody there following him. What Lan XiChen had said that he’d seen earlier hung low over his head like a stormcloud, and the possibility that there could be something even more dangerous than Mo Xuanyu made him so terrified that he’d allowed Zidian’s whip to extend from the ring, and he walked with it clutched in both hands. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>There was a light in a large cave at the very top of the mountain where the Burial Mounds lay, and Jiang Cheng decided that it was better to investigate what was happening there than to leave it alone. He entered, expecting to see an evil spirit or demon, or even that dreaded bastard son of Jin Guangshan, but instead, he saw a dusty, but otherwise nicely maintained room covered in talismans, with a pool of water a bit further away. Lan Wangji sat in front of it, cross-legged with his guqin on his lap, his eyes closed in severe concentration, while A-Yuan lay in the bed, soundly asleep. Jiang Cheng looked around in amazement, wondering if this was where Wei Wuxian had once lived, and he was so in awe of the sight around him that his ears almost didn’t catch Lan Wangji’s soft words.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Jiang Wanyin.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Hanguang-Jun,” Jiang Cheng murmured. He bowed, even though Lan Wangji hadn’t turned to look at him. He straightened his back and looked around for any sight of Mo Xuanyu, but found that there was no trace of him. “Where did--?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“He’s not Mo Xuanyu.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Jiang Cheng nodded. “He’s not. I thought you and Lan XiChen might’ve been fooled by his act.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Never,” Lan Wangji said. “I am not fooled. Brother wants to believe he is.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Then why are you getting so close to him?” Jiang Cheng asked.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Not Wei Ying either.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Jiang Cheng furrowed his brow in confusion, unsure of where that had come from. Mo Xuanyu did act a little bit like Wei Wuxian, but he was much too dangerous and conniving to be Wei Wuxian. He swallowed and leaned against the wall of the cave, trying to brace himself for what might happen next. With Lan Wangji, he could never tell.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I know,” Jiang Cheng said. “But why?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He heard a sniff come from Lan Wangji, but was sure that he’d imagined it. The esteemed Hanguang-Jun would never cry in such an indecent place. And yet, in the light of the candles that had been reborn from darkness, he could see one single drop of water hit the wood of the guqin perched atop Lan Wangji’s knees, rolling off the side and dissipating into the dirt beneath him. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Can’t stand missing him.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Jiang Cheng looked down at the ground, trying to stop tears from flooding into his eyes as well. “I’ll bet you do. Sometimes, I do too, and other times, I want to kill him all over again for leaving me here alone.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You won’t?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“What?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“If we find him? You won’t kill him?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Jiang Cheng sighed and shook his head reluctantly. “I can’t. Jin Ling is without a mother or father. I can’t rob A-Yuan of his parents like Wei Wuxian did for him. Wei Wuxian will pay for his crimes, but he will not die.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Pay?” Lan Wangji asked, turning back to look at Jiang Cheng with worry glowing in his glistening eyes.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“By dying he abandoned his family. He will reconnect with us, whether he likes it or not. He will be a father to A-Yuan just like you and he will become my brother again, and he will meet Jin Ling like a proper uncle.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Lan Wangji nodded, turning back to the guqin. “And I will marry him.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The left side of Jiang Cheng’s mouth involuntarily quirked up, but he forced his face back into the scowl that he usually kept it in. It was nice that Wei Wuxian might be happy when he was reborn, but part of him knew that he wouldn’t focus so much on his surviving relatives if he had someone like Lan Wangji to love completely. Part of him was a bit jealous. Jiang Cheng felt that, if he died, nobody would miss him. There would be no family waiting for him. No one would want to marry him.</span>
</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0021"><h2>21. Chapter 21</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Jiang Cheng could hardly believe that this place was where Wei Wuxian has spent his later years. After Lan WangJi had bid him goodnight, deciding to stay in the large cave with A-Yuan, he’d decided to explore the place for himself and see what he might find. He’s been expecting to see a mountain of corpses, bodies of those thrown into the Burial Mounds and perished, as well as the alleged victims of Wei Wuxian’s rule, but there was none such thing. There were crops that had died out years ago and buildings that were falling to pieces from neglect, and strewn about were parts of his brother’s studies and inventions that had been scattered by rogue cultivators trying to make a name for themselves by raiding the emptied lair of the Yiling Patriarch.</p>
<p>Whoever Mo Xuanyu was, he must’ve gotten his books and papers from the Burial Mounds. There was no other place where a person could get knowledge and scripts on demonic cultivation. The thought of this false Mo Xuanyu rifling through the Burial Mounds years before, trying to find the books and manuscripts that belonged to his brother, made him sick. That was information that shouldn’t have even existed. It got his brother killed. The four clans should have destroyed it when they had the chance.</p>
<p>Speaking of which, Mo Xuanyu was still nowhere to be seen.</p>
<p>Jiang Cheng hoped that he’d come to his senses and run off, leaving them all behind. At least then, he wouldn’t have to worry so much.</p>
<p>Eventually, he met back up with Lan XiChen again, who had taken refuge in one of the small houses on the verge of collapse. It didn’t look safe there, but the Lan sect leader didn’t seem to care at all. He was shaken and pale, pouring himself a drink from a bottle of wine that must’ve been there for years. His hands were trembling as he tried to pour the contents into the small cup on the table in front of him. Jiang Cheng laughed, although it sounded more like a weak cough meant to break the silence, and Lan XiChen looked back in relief. He quickly put down the bottle of wine and motioned for Jiang Cheng to sit across from him.</p>
<p>"Isn’t the Lan Clan forbidden from drinking?" Jiang Cheng sighed, crossing his arms. "Or have the rules changed since I was a teenager?”</p>
<p>Lan XiChen shook his head. "They haven’t. I just."</p>
<p>"You said yourself that not everyone can follow the rules all of the time. I won’t blame you or get you in trouble. But I’ll be damned if you drink that all by yourself. I just had a talk with your brother and, after that, I think I need something to take the edge off."</p>
<p>Lan XiChen’s eyes widened. "He spoke to you?"</p>
<p>Jiang Cheng walked over and sat down in front of Lan XiChen. He grabbed the bottle and poured it into the second dusty cup laid out on the table. "He’s not a great conversationalist, but at least he knows that the fake Mo Xuanyu isn’t Wei Wuxian or anyone else. He’s an imposter.”</p>
<p>Lan XiChen nodded forebodingly. "I was hoping that wasn’t the case. I wanted to believe that he was actually sent by the Nie sect but, after today... perhaps I shouldn’t trust people so easily.”</p>
<p>”Perhaps you shouldn’t."</p>
<p>There was silence. Jiang Cheng had the feeling that he’d said something wrong, but he had no way of rectifying it, so he just stared down, counting the knots in the wooden table. He’d always been taught to never trust anyone by his mother, and had learned that to be true over his lifetime. The only person anyone could trust was themselves. That was the only true constant in the entire universe.</p>
<p>Lan XiChen raises his cup to Jiang Cheng. "I’ll toast to you then. Jiang Wanyin. For always being right."</p>
<p>That stung like a lash from Zidian, but Jiang Cheng didn’t know why. He raised his cup in turn. "And I’ll toast to you, Lan XiChen. For being the only person from the Lan sect I can handle being around."</p>
<p>Lan XiChen stifled a giggle, the sides of his lips quirking up at the comment, and Jiang Cheng felt suddenly proud of himself for lightening the mood. The two of them drank at the same time, and although Jiang Cheng’s eyes were closed, he couldn’t help but feel an intensity radiating off of Lan XiChen, like he was a shark circling around prey in the middle of the ocean.</p>
<p>Perhaps Lan XiChen didn’t like him as much as he thought.</p>
<p>Jiang Cheng opened his eyes and set his cup on the table, smiling at the disgruntled Lan XiChen. "If you’d have lived in the Jiang Sect, you would’ve drunk every night since the age of fifteen. You Lans are so delicate."</p>
<p>Lan XiChen scoffed. "I’m better at holding my liquor than most Lans, if you want to make it a competition."</p>
<p>Jiang Cheng rolled his eyes. "Who knew alcohol would bring out such a fierce side to you, Lan XiChen? And here I thought you were a kind peacemaker."</p>
<p>"I’ve always admired you for your competitiveness."</p>
<p>It was a bit of a shock to hear that Jiang Cheng had been admired for anything at all. He had to take a moment to ensure that it hadn’t been an auditory hallucination, and that he’d heard Lan XiChen correctly. He had always been in Wei Wuxian’s shadow, never truly living up to anyone’s expectations—only their disappointments. This comment made his poor heart soften like it hadn’t done in seven years. He hadn’t felt like this since Jin Ling’s birth.</p>
<p>"Thank you, Lan—"</p>
<p>"Why won’t you call me Lan Huan?"</p>
<p>Jiang Cheng furrowed his brow in confusion. "Why should I?”</p>
<p>"Just do it!"</p>
<p>"No!"</p>
<p>"You’re so stubborn!"</p>
<p>Jiang Cheng huffed. "Stop it. I’m not calling you Lan Huan! I hardly think we’re close enough for that!"</p>
<p>Lan XiChen’s body settled, and he looked sad all of a sudden. He swallowed, tears filling his eyes, and all Jiang Cheng wanted to do was run to him and hug him and tell him that he was sorry for not calling him by his birth name.</p>
<p>"You really don’t remember?”</p>
<p>Jiang Cheng tilted his head. "Remember what?"</p>
<p>There was a pause. Then, "Forget it."</p>
<p>And with that, Lan XiChen stood up and swept out of the little house in the Burial Mounds, leaving Jiang Cheng sitting idly by, dazed and lost in the madness of the situation. And, before he left, Lan XiChen took the rest of the bottle with him.</p>
  </div></div>
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